AURORA — They baby-proofed their house, prepared the nursery and a crib for a son expected to be born any day now.
So, you can imagine how upset the Allis family was when their SUV with a newly-installed car seat was stolen Tuesday morning. Nidal Allis drove his wife's red Lexus RX 350 to his morning workout at an Aurora gym and was looking for his keys when he noticed it was missing.
"So, now I have no SUV with, you know, car seats, baby seats or anything," Nidal said. "My wife is at home and I'm trying to calm her down, telling her it's not be deal and that we're covered."
Nidal and his family might be among the latest victims of car theft in Aurora, but they're far from being alone. Numbers from Aurora Police show an increase in auto theft from this time last year. The amount of vehicles stolen has jumped 18 percent.
As of June 30, 1,133 cars were stolen in Aurora in 2018. By that date last year, 960 vehicles had been stolen.
"[Thieves] use vehicles like this in other crimes or they use them to do a joyride," Sgt. Chris Neiman of the Aurora Police Department said. "It runs the gamut of reasons they steal cars."
Nidal now looks to buy a new car because he said he won't chance waiting for police to find his in time for the birth of his son.
"Not that it's ever good timing, but this was the worst possible moment," he said.
Police advised to always lock their vehicles and take their keys with them, never leave a car running regardless of how cold or hot it may be outside and remove all valuable items.
If someone witnesses a vehicle being stolen, don't take matters into your own hands, police said. Instead, they suggest you be "the best witness."
"You can start taking video, snap pictures of what you're seeing and that's good evidence for us in our investigation," Sgt. Neiman said.
He also asked witnesses make note of the kind of vehicle being stolen, its color, any identifying bumper stickers, the license plate number of the thief's characteristics.
