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Jogging moms report car break-ins along the Booty Loop

Kristen Richards said she and her friends have been meeting up at a parking lot across from Myers Park United Methodist Church for five years without any issues until last Saturday morning.

A group of moms is warning others about a string of car break-ins along the Booty Loop in the Myers Park area.

Kristen Richards said she and her friends have been meeting up at a parking lot across from Myers Park United Methodist Church for five years without any issues until last Saturday morning.

According to a police report, a suspect smashed the windows of six cars in the parking lot between 6:40 and 7:40 a.m. and stole purses, gift cards, credit cards, cash, a cell phone and more.

The thefts came as a shock to Richards because she said she and her friends take precautions to hide their valuables.

"We know to leave valuables where they're not visible,” Richards said. “We lock our cars. We don't leave our keys. I know a lot of runners leave their keys on the tire. We take them with us."

Richards said she left her purse hidden in the center console of her minivan, only to find the window smashed when she returned from her run.

“We all thought, broad daylight, we’re doing everything right, but it didn’t work out so well for us.”

she said.

Richards said in the future, the group of women she runs with aren’t going to meet up at that parking lot anymore and will only bring the necessities to get through a run and their daily routines as moms.

"Our day starts with a run and then we head off and run errands and go to, you know, soccer practice and other things, so it's just not realistic not to bring anything," Richards said.

Johnathan Frisk, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police crime prevention officer, said runners should be mindful when leaving any valuables in the car. He recommended only taking the bare minimum, such as keys, phone, credit card or cash.

If you have to leave something in the car, Frisk said to put it in the trunk or stash it in a place that isn’t easy to find or grab quickly.

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