MOBILE, Ala. (WPMI) Police in Mobile's fourth precinct stated two cars were broken in to Monday after valuables were left out in plain sight. Officials stated criminals rarely serve their full sentence and become repeat offenders creating a problem for certain communities.
"The frustrating part is most of these offenders as soon as they get out, we deal with them again," said Captain Clay Godwin.
Police stated Cameron Bell is one of those repeat offenders.
"He had over 13 cases with us and was already out on bond and had at least a dozen cases involving burglary into vehicles and fraudulent use of credit cards from USA and that was in 2011. He was able to put those cases off until we caught him again in October of 2012," said Godwin.
Just last week, Bell was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
"We spent more time building a case on him developing a suspect and making an apprehension then he'll ever spend in jail," said Godwin.
With a split sentence deal, Bell is scheduled to serve only 90 days in jail. Despite Godwin's frustration, he says he is aware of the problems with the court.
"We understand the back log of the system with the courts and the amount of cases they have," said Godwin.
Captain Godwin stated most thieves target shopping malls, gyms, and even residences.
"They don't think anything twice about leaving anything unlocked because they feel safe in their residence," stated Godwin. "If a criminal looks in a window and he see's two laptops and a purse, he breaks your window and he's gone in 30 seconds."
The good news is, these crimes are all preventable. Simply lock your car and clear all valuables from your vehicle. Police stated if you decide to keep things in your trunk, make sure you put your things away before you get to your destination.
