The mirrors vanished.

Norma Valles worked hard and didn’t need this headache. Her family co-owns and manages the Nueva Casita Mexican restaurant in Dallas, serving up tasty tacos and enchiladas with a smile. Valles also works as a singer at the restaurant

The Victim: Norma Valles

The Crime: Auto accessory theft

Date: Thursday, May 2

Time: Between 11:15 p.m. and 9 a.m.

Location: 6200 block of Linden and other area establishments, belting out jazz, Latin and mariachi tunes in both English and Spanish. In fact, the day she spoke with the Advocate, Valles was preparing to sing the national anthem at the Texas Rangers game on May 5.

However, the theft of both side mirrors from her car on May 2 left her with a sour note. It was quite a shock to walk out that morning and find them gone. Unfortunately, this was not the first time she and her family have been victimized.

“We’ve had a lot of issues,” she says. “This is the seventh or eighth time we’ve had cars broken into.”

Valles says that includes having car windows smashed three times and a friend’s car window smashed and cell phone stolen. Her frustration mounts because the family restaurant also has been broken into several times. These criminal acts have been a problem, and Valles plans on taking more active steps toward crime prevention including getting more involved in the community crime watch and possibly adding more security.

“It’s a wonderful area, but this is extremely challenging,” she says.

Auto accessory theft is a fairly common crime — and a frustrating one for victims. Dallas Police Major Bill Humphrey of the North Central Patrol Division says keeping a car in a garage or a well-lit area can help prevent this type of crime, but nothing is 100 percent.

“Most home burglars are amateurs looking for easy targets,” he says — and making things a bit tougher on a criminal might keep a resident from becoming a victim.

Crime Numbers

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OPTOMETRiST

$400-$500 80

Age of Harry Noble when he was found stabbed to death in his home on the 3900 block of Deep Valley Drive May 4

Amount of money Allen Wayne Yater allegedly stole from Noble after slashing his throat and stabbing him over a work dispute they had the day prior, police say; Yater had worked for Noble’s lawn service business and Noble was displeased with Yater’s work

$525,000 Amount Yater’s bond is set at

50

Amount of years Noble was a member of St. Rita’s Catholic Church

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Source: Dallas Police Department crime statistics