Playa del Rey, Venice residents rattled by broken car windows

LOS ANGELES - Several cars had their windows busted early Thursday morning by burglars in Playa del Rey and Venice.

"It’s just a huge violation of personal privacy," said Trent Marlow. "Someone sifting through your stuff."

Marlow is one of at least eight people in Playa del Rey and Venice to have a car window broken Thursday morning. He and his neighbor, Ron Harris, live off Sunridge Street.

Surveillance video shows the vandals working like meticulous surgeons, using a device to break car windows. Then, the thieves can be seen neatly placing the glass on top of the vehicles.

"It’s sad for the entire community," said Ron Harris. "There’s no winners."

"This just feels like Playa, the entire beach community, is getting more crime-ridden," said Marlow. 

"There was that shooting last week [at an apartment in Marina del Rey]. The 2 women attacked. Seems like the community needs more enforcement."

In January, FOX 11 reported on a similar case in nearby Westchester. There, at least 30 people woke up one morning to broken car windows.

While Marlow, and his neighbor Harris, didn’t have anything removed from their cars, they both say it will cost them a few hundred dollars to fix the damage. They’re not sure what the crooks are looking for.

"The idea to help people and to make [criminal justice] not based on poverty makes sense, that’s good in theory," said Harris. "But there has to be some sort of balance. Community service, probation, I don’t know the answer, but something other than a slap on the wrist."

So far, no arrests have been made in this case, or the one in Westchester. It’s unclear if the burglaries from the separate locations are related. Anyone with information is urged to contact Los Angeles police.

"It’s just not cool," said Marlow. "You’re invading peoples’ privacy. Just stop doing it, get a job."