Top 5 in Los Altos Crime: 911 Hang-ups and Suspicious Vehicles

It wasn't our imagination. Los Altos Police have noticed an uptick in burglaries from unlocked cars: iPods, GPS devices, loose change, you name it. 

"These are crimes of opportunity, so don't leave items of value and secure your vehicle," said police Sgt. John Korges.

And we're seeing plenty of 911 hang-ups. Many times these are accidental calls from offices that have telephone systems that require dialing "9" to get an outside line. When a caller needs to additionally dial a "1" in front of the area code, you can see why this happens a lot.

When the caller realizes he or she has inadvertently dialed "911," however, the next reaction is to hang up. Quickly. Please don't do that, Korges says.

"What we ask people to do is stay on the line and clarify that as misdial." Why? Otherwise, the police will show up. "We always err on the side of caution," the sergeant says. "You never know, so we go out."

Here's the Top 5 for Wednesday (and wee hours of Thursday):

1. 911 Hang-ups

8:50 a.m.—911 hang-up, 300 block of Distel Circle, officer made contact.

2:14 p.m.—911 hang-up, 4400 block of El Camino Real, officer made contact.

2:51 p.m.—911 hang-up, Dior Trail, mis-dial.

6:56 p.m.—911 hang-up, 1000 block of Fremont Avenue, cellular 911 call, officer unable to establish contact on call back.

2. Suspicious circumstances

8:37 a.m.—suspicious vehicle, Pasa Robles and Mercedes avenues, officer responded and tagged.

9:05 p.m.—suspicious vehicle, Lucky's supermarket, no evidence of crime.

1:03 a.m.—suspicious vehicle, 2600 block of El Camino Real, Mountain View, no evidence of crime.

3:01 a.m. Thursday—suspicious person, 500 block of Palm Avenue, noises heard outside, area checked.

3. Hit-and-run accident

8:07 p.m. Wednesday—accident, hit and run, no injuries, South San Antonio Road and Lyell Avenue; property damage, report taken

4. Theft from unlocked vehicle 

1:48 a.m. Thursday—theft, cold report, 1900 block of Fallen Leaf Lane, vehicle left unlocked, victim only wanted information passed on to detectives.

5. Driving under the influence

2:10 a.m. Thursday—DUI, West Portola Avenue and San Antonio Road, driver arrested and cited, vehicle towed.