Floridians are well aware of “Click it or ticket.”
But some people in Holmes Beach are learning the hard way another common aphorism: “Lock it or lose it.”
The Holmes Beach Police Department posted on Facebook June 1 with a message from Chief Bill Tokajer asking residents to “Please, lock your car doors and do not leave your keys inside your vehicle. … Do not become a victim!”
The post refers to incidents from the previous night, when three vehicles were reported stolen and several items turned up missing from three other vehicles.
The owners of the burglarized vehicles reported missing car keys, a wallet and more, but officers did not find fingerprints or video of the incidents.
However, HBPD officers made early progress in locating two of the three stolen vehicles.
An officer from the Bradenton Police Department reported to the HBPD June 1 that they’d found a Buick Riviera registered to Holmes Beach resident and local business owner Fred Bartizal abandoned at a Bradenton gas station.
An HBPD officer visited Bartizal’s residence to confirm the vehicle was stolen and Bartizal added that his Jaguar XK6 also was missing.
Bartizal said both vehicles were unlocked and the keys could have been inside when they were stolen.
Bartizal’s Buick was recovered from the gas station and returned to his home. The Jaguar remained missing as of June 2.
Meanwhile, a third stolen vehicle was tracked to a property in Davenport.
Georgia resident Lisa Vacante, vacationing on Anna Maria Island, first reported her Mercedes Benz GLE63 stolen after waking to find it missing from a driveway.
There was no video of the incident, but the vehicle was traceable with an app on the owner’s phone.
The owner tracked the vehicle to a property in Davenport, so an officer notified the Polk County Sheriff’s Office to be on the lookout for the vehicle.