A video recorded by a local resident showed a stranger with a hoodie, creeping through an upscale La Mesa neighborhood trying to get into cars.
In the surveillance video from about 2:30 Wednesday morning, a figure in a hoodie is seen walking toward Kenan Alkadi's SUV, parked in his driveway on Brooke Court.
“I don't want to say I felt violated, but I definitely went through a bunch of emotions,” Alkadi said.
The video captured a mysterious person walking up to the driver door and peering inside before trying the handle. It was locked.
The figure then moved to a car belonging to Alkadi’s friend, parked in the same driveway. It was also locked. The person then saunters off.
He's hardly alone.
On the app Nextdoor, other neighbors living blocks away reported someone broke into their cars.
“They woke up in the morning and found their cars had been ransacked,” Alkadi said.
Those neighbors still trying to figure out what, if anything, was taken.
Crimes in the immediate area are rare, but according to Erimemapping.com -- within a mile radius – there have been dozens of crimes in the past month, including car thefts, break-ins and burglaries.
Alkadi is hoping his video will create more awareness.
“One person can't protect everybody, but as a collective - if we look out for each other - everybody is safer,” Alkadi said.
It appears all the cars broken into were unlocked.
La Mesa Police ask anyone with information to call local police.
