BROKEN ARROW, Okla. — Ariel James is a Broken Arrow mother of four who recently lost her job. A family member gave her money to ensure her children had gifts to open on Christmas morning.
James went shopping and wanted to wait until her children went to sleep before bringing the presents inside. Unfortunately, she and her husband fell asleep before they brought anything in.
"When my husband woke me up this morning, he had let me know that the car was stolen," said James. "We had discovered that they had taken it and everything along inside of it."
A neighbor's Nest camera captured three individuals walking around the area, and around 10 p.m., the car left the driveway. Both of the keys for the car were inside, and James said the doors were locked.
The car was full of $400 worth of gifts for James' children. She said this puts a lot of strain on her family at a time when they were already struggling.
"They could have [just] stole my car, but they took from my kids," said James.
Broken Arrow Police Officer Mike Peale said James did the right thing by locking the doors, but leaving anything at all inside a vehicle can be a risk.
"Even if your door is locked, if they can see something inside that they perceived as having value, even if it’s an empty gym bag and you know there’s nothing in that gym bag, they don’t," said Peale. "So they still might break that window to get to it."
Peale and James shared a similar sentiment - it's not worth leaving anything out in a vehicle for any period of time.
"'Distract them, take them to go do something, get them inside because it's not safe," said James. "Even in your driveway with your car locked, it's not safe."
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