DALLAS CENTER, Iowa — Vehicle owners in Dallas Center and Minburn were the latest victims in the rash of petty thefts from cars that has annoyed residents in small towns orbiting the Des Moines metro.
“We’re up to about a dozen calls right now of burglaries and motor vehicle thefts in the Dallas Center and Minburn area,” Dallas County Chief Deputy Adam Infante said Tuesday afternoon.
All the thefts appear to have occurred after 2 a.m. Tuesday, Infante said.
“We’re missing credit cards, debit cards, at least one firearm and cash — whatever people can steal out of cars is what we’re missing,” he said. “One car stolen in Dallas Center was recovered in Minburn, and then Minburn had a stolen car that has not been recovered as of yet.”
The towns near the center of Dallas County have joined the long list of places recently victimized by the opportunistic thieves, including Boone, Guthrie Center, Ogden, Panora, Stuart and many other communities. Adel was the target in June and July of 44 car burglaries.
“This is not our first rodeo with this,” Infante said. “Maybe two months ago we had four or five in Dallas Center as well. I don’t know whether these are related to the others or not, but it seems like everybody around here is getting randomly hit.
The sheriff’s office investigation is ongoing.
“I believe we have some camera footage that we’re reviewing, but I don’t know how good it is,” Infante said. “Just because they’re caught on camera doesn’t mean we know who they are. Because of COVID, a lot of people are wearing masks right now, and that adds to the difficulty. Plus it’s at night, so the camera quality is probably not the best.”
The most elementary precautions can deter the criminals and prevent losses, he said.
“The car that we recovered today was not hot wired,” Infante said. “The key fob was left inside of it. We would urge people to not leave their keys in their cars, to take their valuables inside, to lock their doors. This used to be the country and a quieter place, but we’re so close to the metro now that these problems are going to happen with urban sprawl.”
