Some would say when you think of car break-ins, the problem brings to mind San Francisco. 

Now, Antioch is dealing with a recent rash of thefts–with a twist. 

The victims are in their cars, either parked or stopped at an intersection. 

Stopped at a red light, with no place to go, Antioch police are now warning of purse thefts happening while people are still inside their cars.

“These thieves are brazen enough to approach cars that are occupied…is very scary to the victims,” Antioch police Lt. Tara Mendes said.

Lt. Mendes tells KRON4 in one case, while a driver was stopped at an intersection, the purse snatcher quickly ran up and smashed the car’s window, taking bags right off the passenger seat. Then, the thief got away in a vehicle with no rear license plate or a paper plate.

Police are also concerned about shattered windows from car break-ins showing up in mall parking lots, where inside parked cars, finding bags in clear sight was not hard to find.

“I just go to the store for 5 minutes, grab two things,” Antioch resident Butsaya Hartman said. “I don’t think anything is going to happen in 5 minutes.”

As the holiday shopping season approaches, County Market off Hillcrest Avenue hired a private security guard to patrol the parking lot where the owner of these shopping bags is just now learning about the recent rash of purse thefts.

“Thank you for letting me know,” Hartman said. “(I’ll) be more careful now…everything in the trunk.”

Also tied to this is an attempt to crack down on cars without license plates.

Police did a sting and wrote almost 30 tickets, towed 3 cars, made 2 arrests, and found a stolen vehicle.

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