Another gun has been stolen from an unlocked vehicle in a familiar area.
Just two weeks ago, a handgun was stolen from a car on Osprey Avenue in Naples. Over the July 4 weekend, another firearm was reported stolen from a vehicle on Pelican Avenue, just around the corner from the prior crime.
"I'm not sure why people would leave their guns where it's readily available to others," said Trista Kragh, who lives down the street from the recent crime.
Kragh had hoped that a rash of car burglaries in her neighborhood two weeks earlier would end after police arrested Daniel Haizlip, 20, of Naples. A firefighter caught Haizlip red-handed, grabbing personal items from his car parked across the street from Naples Fire Station One.
Haizlip is still behind bars, charged with multiple car burglaries, including one in which he's accused of stealing a gun with the three clips from the unlocked car on Osprey Avenue.
"I'm shocked it happened again," Kragh said. "I know they got the kid from two weeks ago, and now...who's this?" she asked, referring to the thief in the most recent crime.
That theft was reported Friday after a young man told police he noticed his bike was missing from the back of his truck parked at a home on Pelican Avenue.
"Then when he got into his vehicle, his firearm was missing from the center console," said Lt. Seth Finman of the Naples Police Department.
He said the victim told police that he wasn't sure if he had locked his car or not, but that there did not appear to be any forced entry.
Kragh said that the string of car burglaries is a scary reminder that security is everyone's responsibility.
"We really have to pay attention because if the gun gets into wrong hands...you don't know what they're capable of doing," she said.
Finman said that the serial number for the firearm is in both state and national databases, meaning that if someone tried to sell it to a gun shop - or if it were seized in an arrest - the gun would be flagged as stolen.
