GONE IN 60 SECONDS? CLOSE TO IT.

Doug Jackson had a tough day. He had surgery and was spending the night at a friend’s home while recovering. He was still in some pain — and some added mental anguish would follow the next day. A neighbor came by that morning to inform him about his car in the front of his friend’s home. The car was up on blocks with all four of the rims and tires gone.

“It just seems that those things seem to happen in the Dallas area,” Jackson says. “That’s why you have insurance.”

The Victim: Doug Jackson

The Crime: Auto accessory theft

While his insurance indeed covered the loss, Jackson was out a bit of cash because of the deductible hopes he is not victimized again any time soon.

Date when an unknown suspect stole a Tory Burch handbag containing credit cards and a driver’s license from a parked vehicle on the 5900 block of Royal.

$500

Date: Monday, Nov. 11

Time: Between 7 p.m. and 4 a.m.

Location: 6700 block of Meadow

Lt. Richard Dwyer of the North Central Patrol Division provides research on this type of crime in that area of Preston Hollow: from July 1 through Dec. 1 in the area bounded by Royal Lane to Northwest Highway and Inwood Road to North Central, only four offenses were found where the tires and rims were removed from a vehicle.

Value of iPad stolen from an employee at the NorthPark Center AT&T store on Dec. 7 at 1:59 p.m.; The property has not yet been recovered.

3900

“So although these type of offenses are not frequent in this area, they do occur. Of course custom or high-end rims are more attractive than stock rims,” he says. “The majority of these offenses occur during the night, so installing floodlights is a good low-cost preventive measure. In addition, vehicle owners can look into the option of getting a car alarm.”

LH, PH, OC

Dwyer adds that common vehicle accessories that are targeted include tires and rims, tailgates, high-end outside mirrors, catalytic converters and license plates. In the same area, he notes that more outside mirrors were stolen than tires and rims during the same time period.

Sean Chaffin is a freelance writer and author of “Raising the Stakes”, obtainable at raisingthestakesbook.com. If you have been a recent crime victim, email crime@advocatemag.com.