A fresh wave of car burglaries are hitting Tampa with thieves striking on Harbor Island, Channelside and the Wellswood Neighborhood.
"I was coming to my truck and I checked the door and it was half open, half closed," said Aldofo Albellar, a homeowner in Wellswood.
Now, Albellar's sense of security on his quiet street has been stolen from him. He's had his car broken into twice in his own driveway.
"This is the way I knew they got into my car because the glove department was just like this," he said.
Home surveillance cameras captured someone breaking into his unlocked truck earlier this week. People in the neighborhood say they have also spotted two other people trying to get into car doors.
"Checking every car. every single car, just to make sure it's unlocked," Albellar said.
Wellswood neighbors are now stopping each other and sharing similar troubling experiences.
"She sent me an email," said BJ Dihigo, who was also broken into. "She said look, somebody else got broken into."
She said she hopes Tampa Police will soon be able to nab these car crooks.
"That they need to stop because they could ruin their lives," Dihigo said. "They really could."
Apartment complexes and condo buildings in Harbor Island and Channelside also are now warning residents to lock their car doors after a series of car break ins in those areas.
Tampa Police said the numbers of car break ins are actually down, but this crime tends to hit the city in waves.
"You never know what's going to happen," Albellar said.
Now, Albellar said he is locking up every night. He said he doesn't want to become a victim a third time.
