NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — A vehicle burglary was caught on camera Tuesday morning, Jan. 2, outside a house near the corner of Filmore Avenue and Argonne Boulevard in Lakeview.
“My husband and I got up, had coffee, and decided to pick up the Christmas decorations, and went outside and found that my car had been broken into,” said LeaAnne Dantin.
It appeared, Dantin says, that the perpetrator used a window-breaking tool to gain access inside her vehicle. The suspects reportedly took off with a checkbook and a few dollars in cash.
Dantin called police, who she says responded within an hour.
“The police told me to look at a certain timeframe on the security camera because two blocks down on Walker Street, three cars had also been broken into,” Dantin recalled.
Records show at least 11 vehicles were burglarized Tuesday morning, which woke up some neighbors around 2:30 a.m.
“My neighbor thought it was my car alarm going off, and she looked out the window and saw a black car but couldn’t tell the make or model,” Dantin said. “She didn’t think anything of it, and she realized this morning that she probably should have called and said something to either myself or the police.”
According to the New Orleans Police Department’s end-of-the-year-crime statistics, there were more than 4,000 reported vehicle burglaries in 2023, which is slightly down from 2022.
Dantin is hopeful the downward trend will continue.
“I think the police are trying their best to get it to where we need to be and trying their best to keep our neighborhoods safe,” Dantin said.
An NOPD spokesperson says it is unclear at this time if the vehicle burglaries are related.
Anyone with information about the crimes is asked to call NOPD or Crimestoppers of Greater New Orleans at (504)-822-1111.
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