Resident wants stolen SUV back
By Sylvie Belmond belmond@theacorn.com

Gabriela Hoban drove to Fillmore on Monday and to the San Fernando Valley on Tuesday in search of her SUV, which had been stolen from the Moorpark Marketplace parking lot early last Sunday afternoon.

"I'm very upset. I want my darn car back or at the very least the kids' stuff," she said.

The champagne gray Cadillac Escalade is easily recognizable because it has a custom grill and rims, said the Moorpark resident as she combed used-car lots in the San Fernando Valley for her automobile.

"I was very attached to my car. I could immediately recognize the scratches on the rims," she said.

Hoban went on to say that people had warned her about similar car thefts occurring in shopping centers near the freeway in Moorpark. She was told that thieves have specifically been targeting Cadillac Escalades and Avalanches. They may even be using a master key so they don't have to break into the vehicles, she said.

"This has been going on for at least a year, so I parked directly in front of Kohl's to be in a visible spot," Hoban said. The locked vehicle was taken within 25 minutes or so.

Authorities are investigating the theft, according to Moorpark Police Detective Ed Ilano, who said he hasn't noticed a pattern with respect to Escalades being stolen in Moorpark.

One other car theft was reported the same week Hoban's SUV was stolen: A Toyota was taken from the front of someone's house, said the detective.

Two reports of stolen vehicles were filed in April, but one was cleared because the car was actually repossessed by the lender. A vehicle stolen in Newbury Park in March was recovered in Moorpark and only one car theft occurred in town in February. None of the vehicles were Cadillac Escalades, Ilano said.

Stolen vehicles are automatically entered into a multi-agency database to warn officers and deputies to look out for, and use caution, when they approach the car.

Local officers are also briefed before they patrol their beats, Ilano said. Frequently, cars are stolen for parts. The air bags and CD player have value to the thieves, the detective said. Some cars may end up abandoned or south of the border.

However, Hoban is still convinced that her specific brand of SUV is more vulnerable to theft than other makes. She's also concerned that people aren't made aware of the problem.

"Plenty of people have this type of car and they need to be warned," she said.

Hoban hopes to view the security videos captured at the Moorpark Marketplace between 1 and 1:30 p.m. Sunday to obtain a description of the thieves. The car needed gas, so someone may have seen the vehicle, she said.

Her drive to locate those responsible is also motivated by personal safety and identity theft concerns since a registration displaying her home address was inside the car.

"I just really want these people apprehended," she said.