Car Burglaries, Vandalism Gets Costly In Chatsworth

CHATSWORTH (CBSLA.com) — A rash of car burglaries and vandalism is proving expensive for motorists in Chatsworth.

Neha Kahn woke up to find a mess. Her Mercedes passenger window bashed in and $2500 worth of stuff taken.

"I had some sunglasses, I had a backup laptop, I had a purse, which I normally never leave in the car," Kahn said.

Down the street Paul Ginsburg now parks in his garage after his SUV was broken into. He spent $1,000 to repair and replace his belongings.

Their vehicles were three of the 21 burglarized last week on Valley Circe in Chatsworth. The week before eight were hit. LAPD says they believe the same people are probably responsible for all of them.

And it's not just Valley Circle that's been targeted. They say car break-ins are up nearly 100 percent in all of Chatsworth.

So far this year there have been 79 reported, compared to 41 this time last year.

They also say car thefts are up. Ashley Martynchuck says her Prius was stolen. Police found it with thousands of dollars in damage.

"I've worked really hard to buy a vehicle, make payments and then to have somebody come in and steal it is aggravating," she said.

Police say these were almost all crimes of opportunity. Victims either left their cars unlocked or stuff visible.