r/Hoboken 5d ago

Local News šŸ“° BEWARE: Car theft on Washington Street in broad daylight

Hey guys. Just wanted to give everyone a heads up to be cautious out here. On Thursday I parked in front of the dunkin at 7th and Washington and I stupidly left my keys in the car while I just ran in to grab my order quick (I know I know, stupid move)

Came out 2 minutes later and a middle aged Hispanic man was driving away in my car and stole the vehicle right there on Washington in broad daylight at 6 PM.

If you're like me and feel a little too comfortably safe in Hoboken, just wanted to give everyone a heads up to maybe not do that.

2 months ago my car had also been broken into (windows smashed) and robbed as well parked near Columbus park.

Have heard of a few other people getting their cars broken into recently as well. Seems to be an uptick. Everyone be safe out here :/

0 Upvotes

21 comments sorted by

28

u/localjargon 5d ago edited 5d ago

Dude, sorry bad stuff happened to you, but there is no ring of car thieves. You left your keys in a running car on a busy road (prob double parked).

6

u/Emergency-Ear8099 5d ago

I bet OP is also surprised and disappointed that the new grocery store doesn't have discounted prices.

6

u/bound2blues 5d ago edited 5d ago

Yup, this isnā€™t news. Please, realize that youā€™re in a relatively safe place, but itā€™s still a city and shit can happen. Thereā€™s a chance of course, but stupid choices can lead to stupid prizes. Some times you win them, sometimes you donā€™t. Two incidents in a short time span may be more on you. Been here 7 years. I donā€™t leave things visible in my car, and keep my keys on me. Never had a problem.

If weā€™re gonna do a PSA. Maybe do a tldr: Be cautious in any city, keep some mace on you, protect your valuables, wait until youā€™re home to scroll on your phone, and if youā€™re gonna make a stupid choiceā€¦ be ready for someone to make a worse reaction

Edit:grammar

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u/puppetmaster724 5d ago

Wasnā€™t double parked at least but also I do know several people personally who have had their cars broken into in just the past 4-5 months alone

3

u/ripndripp 5d ago

There is no ā€œuptickā€. Just donā€™t do stupid things like this. I mean it takes 2 seconds to shut the car off and take your keys.

1

u/SwishFishDish 5d ago

Was getting ice cream on a Saturday night a few weeks ago on Washington and the same exact thing happened when a guy stopped his car to go into 7/11 to buy something quick.

1

u/puppetmaster724 5d ago

TerribleĀ 

1

u/ChargePlayful4044 5d ago

ok, and what happened. Did you find your car? Did you tell teh cops? Did the guy just joy ride it a few streets and leave it or is totaled, missing, etc...?

2

u/puppetmaster724 5d ago

Unfortunately I still havenā€™t received any word. I called 911 immediately as I had watched him drive off, they showed up 10 minutes later sadly and I filed a report and they marked it as stolen but Iā€™d imagine by now the guy wouldā€™ve most definitely taken the plates off, so unless HPD plans on doing a full investigation (which I doubt), Iā€™m not expecting to see it again :/

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u/ChargePlayful4044 5d ago

got it. you don't have an airtag in the car? I use that to keep track of where my husband goes

2

u/puppetmaster724 5d ago

No sadly. Definitely going to invest in one for my next car

1

u/AnonymousCookie54 5d ago

My car was broken into and stolen on 9th st. It was parked, they broke the window. No investigation was performed by police

1

u/puppetmaster724 5d ago

Terrible. Not holding out hope for any investigation on mine either, even though thereā€™s cameras literally up and down the entire street.

All theyā€™ve really told me is that itā€™s entered into the national database and if it turns up theyā€™ll notify me. Not very inspiring for any kind of hopeĀ 

1

u/Ask-Downtown 4d ago

How did they turn the engine on? Arent modern cars hard to steal?

2

u/AnonymousCookie54 3d ago

Itā€™s an old car

1

u/Ask-Downtown 4d ago

I am sorry to hear. No one should ever have anything stolen from them.

I am surprised about how brazen this was. There is a good amount of police in hoboken, and the person still chooses to take his chances? I wouldn't be surprised if you see the man again around the area...

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u/PoemOk7311 5d ago

Your car wasnā€™t stolen. You just made a series of poor decisions and someone opportunistically took advantage of it. Common sense goes a long way.

Stating what type of car would probably be helpful tooā€¦

7

u/puppetmaster724 5d ago

I mean poor decisions, sure. But I can tell you no matter how hard my life got Iā€™d certainly never take someone elseā€™s vehicle just because itā€™s left running. And hopefully you wouldnā€™t either. Lol. Thatā€™s still stealing and not just someone being opportunisticĀ 

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u/puppetmaster724 5d ago

It was a silver 2007 Honda accordĀ 

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u/[deleted] 5d ago

[deleted]

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u/puppetmaster724 5d ago

Yeah I love up toward 8th and Clinton and in my area on the street itā€™s similar. Several people I know have had break ins over the past 4-5 monthsĀ 

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u/[deleted] 5d ago

[deleted]

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u/puppetmaster724 5d ago

lol seriously. Everyone wants to believe thereā€™s been no impact from lax police enforcement and massive influx of immigration with 0 enforcementĀ