Thieves hit cars in garage

SOUTHWEST GLENDALE — Upset residents watched early Friday as a forensic technician tried to lift fingerprints from their burglarized vehicles, which had radios, navigation systems and gasoline stolen.

Eight cars and SUVs were burglarized sometime after 1 a.m. Friday, when a resident heard something coming from the apartment building’s underground garage in the 1300 block of East Harvard Street, Glendale Police Officer Steve Eggett said.

Residents heading out for work and errands about 7 a.m. discovered that several car windows had been smashed.

The thieves mostly stole navigation systems and pried out stereos from the vehicles’ dashboards, Eggett said.

They also siphoned gas from two cars, residents said.

“It’s just horrible,” resident Anika Garibian said.

Police haven’t arrested anyone and haven’t identified any suspects.

Vehicle burglaries in the city are often “smash and grab,” according to the Police Department.

Eighty-eight vehicle burglaries were reported in March. Police have expressed concern over the recent spate of vehicle burglaries in south Glendale. In most cases, thieves targeted cars parked in secured underground garages.

Glendale police released a map earlier this year showing the type and number of burglarized vehicles throughout the city. The overwhelming majority of vehicle break-ins were reported in south Glendale.

In Friday’s burglaries, thieves also pried open one of the windows and extracted the window from the rubber sealing holding it in place.

“I am mad,” apartment manager Peter Kasablq said.

He woke up, went to the garage, saw the burglarized vehicles and called police.

The apartment building had a similar incident six years ago.

Thieves burglarized about a half-dozen cars in that incident, residents said. Garibian lost a stereo, including an amplifier that was unbolted from the trunk, and paperwork in the Friday burglaries.

“They had to have three or four guys do this in three or four hours,” Garibian said.

The 24-year-old has generally felt safe in the building, where she has lived for 10 years. But Friday’s burglary changed that.

“I just really feel violated,” Garibian said.

Meghedi Harutyunyan went to the apartment building to help her son fill out a police report for his burglarized car. Her son couldn’t miss his college classes, so she offered to help him.

But Harutyunyan is no stranger to filing police reports.

Her cars have been burglarized outside her home on Verdugo Road at least three times in the past year, she said.

“This is scary,” Harutyunyan said. “Everybody has the same problem.”

Harutyunyan wants to move but can’t afford to. And bills continue to mount because her family has to repair their burglarized cars.

“This is a very difficult time,” she said.

Hovhannes Grigoryan said he will absorb the cost of the damage to his burglarized taxi.

Even though he works for the taxi company, he must pay for any damage caused to the car.

The taxicab window was pried open, and a navigation system was stolen.

Grigoryan said he needs the navigation system to serve his clients.

Anyone with information on the burglaries can call the Glendale Police Department at (818) 548-4840, or Crime Stoppers at (818) 507-7867.

 VERONICA ROCHA covers public safety and the courts. She may be reached at (818) 637-3232 or by e-mail at veronica.rocha@latimes.com.