THE THIEF LEFT HIS CARD.

Neg Norton was shocked when he went to retrieve the newspaper that morning. His 2008 Volkswagen Jetta had been parked in his driveway and was now gone. He quickly called his neighborhood police patrol. They responded quickly, Norton says, and entered his car’s information into their department’s stolen car database.

It was an eerie feeling knowing someone had taken his car and had been so close to his family’s home while they slept that

The Victim: Neg Norton

The Crime: Stolen car

Date: Monday, March 26

Time: Between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m.

Location: 6500 block of Waggoner night. But good news came two days later when he received a call from police — his car had been found. Norton retrieved the

Jetta from the pound. It seemed to be in good shape, but dirty inside and out. The car also smelled of cigarette smoke. His CDs had been stolen, and the thief left a pretty hard-core rap CD in the stereo —not Norton’s music of choice. Norton was glad, however, to have his car back. He’s been a Volkswagen fan for a long time.

“We’ve had a bunch of them over the years. They’re good cars,” he says.

The case took an even more interesting twist when Norton took the car to be cleaned. While vacuuming the interior, a washer discovered a Medicare card under the floor mat left by the thief. The card has given police a clue in the case.

“They’re continuing to investigate the suspect,” he adds.

Dallas Police Lt. Richard Dwyer of the North Central Patrol Division says the car was recovered near Kiest Park in southwest Oak Cliff, and that usually these types of cases do not result in such a happy ending.

“Only a minority of cars that are stolen are found with no damage at all,” he says.

Sean Chaffin is a freelance writer and editor of pokertraditions.com. If you have been a recent crime victim, email crime@advocatemag.com.

Seats in genuine colors & special shapes to match your toilet.

Date when vandals drew a swastika on the street in the 9500 block of Manchester near Midway and Northwest Highway; it was the first day of Passover

Total value of the three bikes stolen April 3 during a burglary at Performance Bicycle at Central and Walnut Hill

04.07 $2,199 6400 SOURCE:

Block of Park Lane where people vandalized the same house multiple times, throwing eggs, breaking off forks in the ground and spraying shaving cream on the door