SAN DIEGO (KGTV) - Surveillance video shows a thief in action, amid of string of smash-and-grab vehicle break-ins.
Along Greyling Drive in Serra Mesa, Dawayne Trobaugh deep sleep was interrupted around 3:30 a.m. Sunday.
"Heard a loud noise, a window shattering," said Trobaugh.
It was dark and foggy, but Trobaugh heard through the window the sound of someone running, then tires squealing. He then saw some taillights drive away.
"When I exited the house, I ran out into the street, looked at the vehicles on the street and didn't see any broken windows. s I went back to house, I noticed glass on the ground and my window broken,"" said Trobaugh.
The side window of his 2018 Ford F-150 was shattered. "You feel violated," said Trobaugh.
Missing from the truck was a computer bag containing his laptop. Trobaugh wasn't the only victim.
"A few streets over, another car got broken into the same night in the same way," said Trobaugh.
A few miles away in Allied gardens, there was a similar scene. A Ring doorbell camera captured it: taillights of a car are seen moving in the street as a man walks past a truck before circling back. He strikes at the window - possibly with a glass breaker - before the window comes down.
In the video, he grabs something out of the truck and heads toward the taillights, before disappearing off the screen.
The victim posted the video on the Neighbors by Ring app, warning neighbors about a thief in the dark.
"They know what they're doing. They've done this before. They'll continue to do this until they get caught," said Trobaugh.
Police have yet to link the smash and grabs over the weekend. If you have any information on the cases, call Crimestoppers at 888-580-8477.
