The District Attorney’s office in Colorado Springs asked me for a summary of how I was affected by the theft of my vehicle. I also have the option of attending the sentencing.
What I summarized for the District Attorney’s Office is below:
This crime significantly affected me and my entire family. My husband and I were under so much stress after learning of this crime that our entire lives were disrupted completely. We could not do anything and the stolen car was the only thing that was on our minds.
The car that was stolen was not just any car. It was a collectors’s 2004 PT Cruiser car that I had bought from an individual in North Carolina in 2020 and had it shipped across country to Colorado Springs. Only 162 Green PT Cruisers total were ever made! These thieves took something that could not be replaced easily. This PT Cruiser also included special chrome on the outside and on the gas cap.
The reason it had been placed inside of a storage unit at Colorado Springs Self Storage South was that I treasured the car so much and kept it in mint condition, but I needed to protect it from the hail that comes to Colorado Springs in the summer while I was away for three weeks. I assumed since it was in a locked storage facility that had security cameras and gate codes that my vehicle was safe. I had stored the same vehicle at another self storage facility in Colorado during the summer of 2022.
(It didn’t cross my mind that that Colorado Springs Self Storage was not a secure facility. I have learned since my vehicle was stolen that storage units get broken into there often. The regional manager, Tasha Patry, of Colorado Springs Self Storage spoke with me on the phone on Tuesday June 27, 2023 and told me that there had been locks cut on June 15, 2023. At the El Paso County Sheriff’s request she’d reviewed security footage the night of 6/26/23. In the footage dated 6/15/23 she saw my car being stolen, but she also saw the car with two thieves in it return to the facility on 6/16/23 and use my car to steal more things from storage lockers they broke into!)
Regarding how this affected me and my family emotionally: We no longer feel safe in Colorado Springs. The idea that there are people that steal from others in our city makes one feel uncomfortable. We seriously have considered moving.
Also, the lack of respect that the two individuals who stole my car had for me and my car was made quite apparent by the vandalism that was done to the inside of the car where they wrote obscenities and white supremacy phrases and anti semitic comments including a swastika with permanent markers all over the inside made me and my family feel very unsafe and vulnerable. This action made it clear that not only did they take over the possession of what was not theirs, but that they wanted to make sure I would not ever receive the car back in an acceptable state. It was if they were acting like I deserved to have my car taken over by them.
The car was a complete mess and filled with so much junk when we went to the Colorado Springs Police Impound lot to release the vehicle to State Farm Insurance. What we saw were materials to steal regularly from others which included flashlights, bolt cutters, water bottles, bags, boxes, tools, spray paint, and permanent markers. There was a feeling of anger inside since one of the statements written in permanent markers seemed to be addressed that the inside lights in the car were not sufficient for the job of stealing!
Regarding lifestyle changes: I was looking forward to a summer vacation in Idaho. Because of this serious crime, my I entire summer plans were ruined! And of course, I didn’t have a car to drive.
Until the Colorado Springs Police called me on Friday June 30 to let me know that the car was recovered, I’d had some hope that perhaps my car would be returned to me in an acceptable state, but I learned that the thieves had painted over the beautiful seamist green color with a flat black paint, removed the high quality and expensive stereo that I’d added to the vehicle, pulled off the antenna, and “decorated” the inside with those horrible phrases and thoughts about white supremacy and obscenities with permanent makers. Also, I learned that drugs and drug paraphernalia were in the vehicle when the police arrested the thieves and returned the vehicle, so even if I wanted my car back, State Farm Insurance explained that the car could not be returned to me because of the drugs.
It should be noted that the thieves had taken children with them in the stolen car since there were coloring books and toys inside.
In addition, some personal things of mine were removed from the car including parking passes that I had a pay fees to replace and our garage door remote. We were concerned that the thieves might break into our house because of that.
After realizing that my cherished vehicle was truly gone, I began searching for a similar vehicle. I searched online and found a very similar car, but with more mileage in Williamsburg, Virginia. I did purchase that vehicle using some of the money that would be issued to me via State Farm Insurance, but it was not enough to cover the cost of traveling to Virginia from Colorado Springs, gas, hotels, meals, and other travel expenses in order to get the car back home. I also hope to replace a similar upgraded radio that the thieves stole from my original car into the new car. I purchased replacement chrome from Amazon which also has brought the cost up.
So, this theft, even though I was reimbursed some costs through insurance has cost me an additional $3600.
In addition, the “pain and suffering” I experienced and the time spent on all that related to this case has affected me and my family.
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I was also asked how long the thieves’ sentences should be and this is what I wrote:
Sentencing:
I have learned that at least one of the thieves has previously been arrested for stealing a vehicle. So this is not a first time offense. That should be taken into consideration. I believe that the thieves should be sentenced as long as possible since if they only serve out a sentence for a short time they will think they have every right to continue stealing from others.
- My Review of Colorado Springs Self-Storage South
- Picked Up Our Replacement Seamist Green 2004 PT Cruiser! 7-8-23
- Our Car Was Stolen From Colorado Springs Self Storage South While I Was In Australia
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