CLEVELAND — A neighborhood on the west side of Cleveland saw a spike in car break-ins this month, and one resident whose car was stolen hopes it leads to changes that will protect vehicles and valuables.
Days after the incidents which hit the Battery Park Lofts in the Battery Park neighborhood, there are no visible signs that several cars were broken into — only an empty parking space in the outdoor lot where Jonathon Bogden paid $50 a month to park his newer Mazda.
"If you get a call from police asking you where your car is, chances are you probably don't know where it is," Bogden said.
Early last Monday, the son of a 3News employee learned a group of what appeared to be young criminals broke into several cars. It wasn't until he got the call from police that he realized he had forgotten to lock his car the night before.
What he didn't know at the time was this: Since it was a car he had recently bought, there was a spare key left inside the glove box.
"Not blameless at all," Bogden said. "I gave them all that they needed to get away with the car, for sure."
Police found his car abandoned only hours later, but according to Bogden, several more cars at the same lot were broken into in the coming days.
"I'm sure the people committing these crimes know that they're on camera, and they're just coming back two days later and doing it again, coming back three days later and doing it again," Bogden said, "because they know no one's trying to solve this stuff, really."
Cleveland police haven't confirmed whether they are the same suspects, but in an email to WKYC, they admitted there was a spike in car break-ins in both Battery Park and nearby neighborhoods this month, including several Sunday night.
"Detectives have done an excellent job identifying some of the suspects," Sergeant Jennifer Ciaccia wrote.
3News took a closer look at the numbers: From January through May 2023, there were 2,522 stolen car incidents in the city of Cleveland. That's a 81% jump compared to the same time last year.
Bogdon said the only communication from Battery Park Lofts was an email, where the building manager acknowledged several car break-ins in the past week but said the incidents didn't happen on their property.
"Unfortunately, as these incidents have taken place outside of the property and in an open public area, police presence will be the most effective solution," the email read, in part. "Especially as this incident occurred during daylight hours and by what appears to be minors."
3News talked to the building manager over the phone. She acknowledged many of the break-ins happened at their surface lot, which is closed to the public by a boom barrier. She added the fee residents pay to park there is not for security of their vehicle, but to guarantee they have a parking spot.
The manager noted that the incidents on the property did not happen in the middle of the night. She also said no vehicles were broken into in the enclosed parking area under the building.
Bogden knows he could have done more to prevent his car from being stolen, but he also hopes police and property management will do more to help protect their vehicles on the property.
"It needs to be on the residents not doing dumb stuff like I did, leaving my car open and having stuff in there," he said. "But it is definitely on the building as well to care about the safety of the residents and their property, and maybe on the city as well to maybe increase patrols in this area, especially when there's so many things happening in rapid succession."
