Car Windows Smashed in Edgewood, Rash of Overnight Vehicle Thefts

More than 16 residents in the area and beyond woke up Monday morning to find their car windows smashed in, money stolen and purses thrown into a backyard.

Edgewood Police Officer Fred Livingston said the calls were continuing to come in at 8:45 a.m. from other boroughs as well, including Wilkinsburg. Several cars were hit on Linden, Elm and Maple avenues.

Livingston said he has seen similar cases in the past.

“It’s happened before,” he said. “A couple of years ago we had a rash of these.”

Jodi Hirsh’s neighbor rang her doorbell and that’s when she discovered the back window of her vehicle had been completely smashed in. Her immediate reaction—anger.

“What frustrates me is that Wilkinsburg gets such a bad reputation for high crime and we lived there for 10 years and nothing ever happened,” Hirsh said. “We have been here for two years and this is the second thing that’s happened.”

Last year, Hirsh’s bike was taken from her property on Linden.

“Neighborhoods get reputations that don’t fit,” she said.

Josie Fisher’s car window was smashed in as well. She lives near the corner of Linden and Maple.

“It’s very unusual,” she said. “They left the GPS unit but took $10.”

Ken Mohnkern’s own car was hit as well.

“My landlady called because someone saw the damage,” he said. “I didn’t expect much of a loss but it’s more of a nuisance on a Monday morning.”

Carmella Alexander stood outside of her own home on Linden Monday morning. Her car wasn’t hit but she found evidence in her own backyard.

“They threw some stuff in our yard—a purse and some medical stuff that was in there,” she said. “I was shocked.”

Were you affected by this rash of crime in our area? Tell us in the comments.