Do You Know these Selfie Subjects? NR16057pv

Reseda: Detectives have released
several selfie pictures taken and uploaded on a Kindle that was
stolen February 9, 2016, the day before Ash Wednesday, from an
unlocked car in the parking lot of a Jack-in-the-Box in the 16800
block of Vanowen Street.

“The Ash Wednesday part is important, because you can see the woman
in the picture has ashes on her forehead which tells us the
pictures were taken the day after the theft,” explained Det. Mark
Pearce of the West Valley Detective Division. “At the moment, we
just want to identify the two persons in the pictures, and
encourage them to contact us and return the Kindle.”

The theft occurred around 3:45 PM, but the photos were uploaded a
few days later, probably when the Kindle linked to the internet.
Detectives have tracked the Kindle to several locations in the San
Fernando Valley since the original crime.

Many electronic devices have tracking applications to help police
and owners locate devices when stolen or lost. In this case, the
owner began tracking his stolen Kindle, as well as a smartphone,
which was also taken. When the pictures were taken, they
automatically uploaded to the cloud, which alerted the owner.

“This theft is unfortunately all too common,” Det. Pearce added.
“It was a crime of opportunity with items left on a front seat,
inside an unlocked car, with the driver yards away, and gone only a
few minutes.”

Last year, thefts from unlocked cars amounted to over 500 crimes,
or about 12 percent of crime in the West Valley. If all drivers
locked their cars and removed items from plain view, we could see
crime drop potentially 10 percent.

Anyone with information regarding this case is asked to contact
Detective Mark Pearce, West Valley Detectives at 323-846-6572
during regular business hours (Monday through Friday, between 8:00
a.m. and 5:00 p.m.). During non-business hours, weekends and
holidays, contact LAPD RACR Division’s 24-hour, toll-free number at
877-LAPD-247 (877-527-3247). If you would like to remain anonymous,
contact Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS. To send a text, text the
word TIPLA, space, and then your message to CRIMES (274637). For
web tips, log onto www.lapdonline.org and click on “Anonymous Web
Tips.”