North Spokane mom’s car stolen one day before her daughter’s birthday, left with no valuables | News
SPOKANE, Wash. – New data from the Spokane Police Department (SPD) shows car thefts are up 7% from this time last year.
By May of 2021, there had been 324 car thefts in Spokane. So far this year, there have been 575.
That now includes a Spokane mother who heard her car start, went outside, and actually watched the thief drive away in her car.
The National Insurance Crime Bureau has a list of the top 10 most stolen vehicles by state in 2020. In Washington, the 1998 Honda Civic and 1997 Honda Accord top that list.
That data is on par here locally too. According to SPD, these are the top stolen vehicles county-wide since 2016.
TOP STOLEN CARS IN SPOKANE COUNTY:
- Honda
- ford
- Chevy
- Subaru
- Toyota
- dodges
- Nissan
It’s not something you think about when looking at cars, but for one family, it’s something they might have wanted to know.
“It was before the chip keys so of course, it was one of the easier cars to get,” Julie Annellott said. “It’s a 1997 Honda Civic Ex and it’s cherry red.”
Early Thursday morning, Annellott knew something was wrong when she heard her car engine turn on.
“I got up and I looked out the window when it was screeching down the road,” she said.
Luckily a neighbor’s security camera caught the theft, but little too late as everything inside the vehicle is now gone.
“My bank card all my ID, my food stamp card, everything. My daughter’s birthday is tomorrow. And they took all the stuff I had to go get her birthday present with,” she said. “My daughter’s library books from school and my son’s library books from school, they all go to three different schools and I have to get up every morning to transport them all three to different schools.”
Thursday the kids had to stay home from school as Annellott has now lost her only transportation. That also includes work.
“I work in airway heights and now I don’t have any way to work,” she said.
All she’s hoping is for the man in this photo to be held accountable and her things returned.
“Just give me my stuff back please I didn’t do anything to deserve this. I am just trying to struggle, I’m a single mom, trying to raise my kids and do the right thing and how dare you take things from my kids really,” she said.
There are some ways to make sure your car isn’t targeted. Like making sure nothing is inside it, it’s locked and parked in either a garage or a well-lit area.
Of course, security cameras are always good too in case the worse does happen.