By Dane Anderson, Staff Writer

A ring of car burglars has targeted the Westlake area recently, hitting Rob Roy residents during the evening of July 22. The Travis County Sheriff’s Office is also warning residents of the Bunny Run and Aqua Verde neighborhoods that burglars are active in their area.
So far, TCSO has had reports of Rob Roy car burglaries on Boardman Lane, Pascal Lane, Cousteau Lane and Hedge Lane related to the July 22 activity, but new reports continue to come in. Most, if not all, of the cars hit during the Rob Roy spree were left unlocked.
“Westlake is a target-rich environment,” said Detective Danny Canty of TCSO. “A lot of expensive property is left in cars overnight in the area. People have been reporting the theft of computers, iPods, GPS systems, purses, sunglasses – anything of value.”
Other things TCSO lists as priority items for car burglars include radios, money, garage door openers, jewelry, cell phones, DVD players, portable televisions and other electronic devices.
Canty said that some of the cars hit in Rob Roy were left outside, and some were in garages where the doors had been left open.
“Anyone who lives in a gated community has a false sense of security,” Canty said. “They are still vulnerable to people walking the neighborhood on foot.”
Canty covers an area of western Travis County that includes the Lost Creek, Barton Creek, Lake Point, Senna Hills, Camelot and Cuernavaca areas as well as part of Loop 360. He said the area has been the target of a rash of burglaries for the last two-and-a-half years. Last year, Canty and his squad arrested members of an organized crime ring for activity that included area car burglaries. He said the suspects were all between the ages of 18-21 years old.
“It seems to be mostly kids,” Canty said. “They walk up and down streets trying car doors. They wear gloves. They go for cars left open or they break into cars with extremely valuable items left in plain sight.”
Canty said that car burglaries could lead to more serious crimes and potentially dangerous situations.
“A purse left in a car leads the way to identity theft and credit card abuse,” he said. “In some instances, car burglars have gone on into houses while people are asleep.”
Canty offers some simple, common-sense advice to local residents who want to keep themselves protected.
“Lock your cars at night and take things inside, don’t leave them in the car,” he said. “Take photographs of laptop computers, cameras, iPods and other valuable property – one photo that shows the serial number and another that shows the item in full. Without that kind of information, we have no way of getting property back to the owner once it is located.”
He recommended putting all photos of important items on a CD, and keeping a copy of that CD somewhere other than the residence.
TCSO also recommends that residents put up motion lights around the house and turn on alarms when leaving home.
If you do see suspicious people, Canty said not to confront them.
“Call 9-1-1 immediately, so we can check it out,” he said. “If it is safe, try to get a license plate of any suspicious vehicle.”