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Harveys Lake Police Chief to Residents After Thieves Get into Vehicles: Lock Your Doors

HARVEYS LAKE — Residents in one community in Luzerne County are being put on alert to make sure they lock their homes and vehicles. The Harveys Lake polic...

HARVEYS LAKE -- Residents in one community in Luzerne County are being put on alert to make sure they lock their homes and vehicles.

The Harveys Lake police chief says within the past month, items have been taken out of cars and two vehicles have even been stolen from driveways.

“I feel we have a safe community, but we as residents are allowing the crime to happen because we're not locking our cars or locking our houses.”

That’s the message from Harveys Lake Police Chief Charles Musial to residents in the borough: secure your property.

Over the last few weeks, the chief says thieves are getting into unlocked vehicles and removing whatever they can find. And the chief says it's happening in surrounding communities as well.

“It's not only here at Harveys Lake but the entire Back Mountain,” said Chief Musial. “They seem to be hitting different areas, different nights and they're taking anything from firearms to jackets.”

The chief says sometime overnight, a 2012 orange-colored Chevy Colorado Z71 pickup truck was taken from a driveway on Center Street.

Jim and Debbie Laubenstein live two doors down and were shocked to hear it was stolen.

“It's really amazing because John parks his car off the street, up by the garage door. I mean, it wasn't parked out on the street so they're pretty brazen,” said Jim Laubenstein.

“It's surprisingly how brazen they are to come right into the driveway,” said Debbie Laubenstein.

Police say that's the second vehicle taken from the borough. The chief believes the thefts are escalating.

“Last week, we had a vehicle stolen and it was found in Wyoming County crashed, so they're getting more and more brave as they go along,” said Chief Musial.

The chief says residents need to take heed of his advice.

“The bottom line that I'm trying to reach out and let everybody know, the residents of the lake, you need to lock your doors. They have not broken into a vehicle by smashing a window or breaking a door. If they're unlocked, that's when they're going in.”

The chief says there are plenty of surveillance cameras posted around Harveys Lake. They are reviewing security footage of when the truck was taken last night and believe they can pin point when it was stolen.

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