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BY: STAFF REPORT | BocaNewsNow.com

BOCA RATON, FL (BocaNewsNow.com) (Copyright © 2022 MetroDesk Media, LLC) — For the seventh time in just a month, a car was stolen from the neighboring communities of Boca Bridges and Seven Bridges. BocaNewsNow.com has learned in almost all cases, homeowners left keys in their vehicle — then were stunned, shocked, surprised, or otherwise dismayed when a thief steals the car.

In the latest case reported around 8 a.m. Thursday — and caught on camera — a Range Rover was left in a driveway in the 17000 Block of Brulee Breeze Way. In the video, which you can view below, a black car is seen pulling up to the driveway. Someone walks just off camera from the black vehicle to the passenger side of the Range Rover. The person enters the Range Rover and darts off in seconds — just after the black car drives away. Both vehicles depart at normal speed…it does not look suspicious.

The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, which is responsible for both Boca Bridges and Seven Bridges, remains “frustrated” according to law enforcement sources that homeowners in both communities continue to leave keys in their vehicles. In many late-model cars, car thieves know that keys are in the car if the vehicle’s mirrors are extended. The problem is not just in West Boca Raton and West Delray Beach. The Boca Raton Police Department, which patrols the City of Boca Raton, created the “WTF?!” campaign. WTF stands for “Where’s The Fob?”

“These people move from out of state and believe they are living in a palace surrounded by a moat,” said a law enforcement source. “There is no other explanation for why people would leave keys in their cars.”

As previously reported, neither Boca Bridges nor Seven Bridges have a “Traffic Enforcement Agreement” with the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office. TEA’s are required for law enforcement to issue tickets in a gated community. Police officers tend to spend time where they are permitted to issue tickets. Criminals tend to spend time where they believe the Police will not be. An attorney for Seven Bridges, in a poorly written legal letter believed to actually be written by a member of the Board of Directors who ordered the community’s attorney to print it on Sax Sachs Kaplan letterhead, accused BocaNewsNow.com several days ago of publishing a “road map” or instruction manual for criminals to steal cars. Read that letter, here. The community now claims that a TEA is in process, even though Boards of Directors have made the same claim for years.

In an effort to help our criminal readers, it’s very simple to steal a car in communities where homeowners believe they are immune from crime due to gates and hourly security: First, enter a gated community where it’s unlikely police are present. Second, look for cars with mirrors extended — that means keys are likely in their car. Three, take the car. Four, leave. Five, laugh when a lawyer sends a letter to local media, accusing it of sharing information about how you steal cars that police have been trying to convey to transplants for years.

A person claiming to be the homeowner in the latest car theft sent several messages to BocaNewsNow.com, expressing the horror of the car theft. The homeowner, who provided the above video, acknowledged that keys were left in the Range Rover. When asked “why” by BocaNewsNow.com, the homeowner stopped responding. Since September 16th, cars have been stolen from Boca Bridges and Seven Bridges on: Aquavera Way, Ludovica Lane, Espresso Manor, Pavillion Way, Rennes Lane, Cadena Drive, and Labelle Court.

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