BEAVERTON, Ore. (KOIN) – A car prowler was shocked as he realized he was being recorded on dashcam video. The moment made for an interesting photo op, a picture the suspect never expected.
The woman whose dashcam recorded it all lives at the Sorrento Bluff Apartments in Beaverton. She said, “I am totally happy I bought that camera. It’s worth every penny.”
She didn’t want to go on camera because this guy is still out there, but says a neighbor discovered her car’s door wide open Friday morning.
That neighbor, Aralyn Martin, said, “It’s horrible, you feel violated, you feel like you can’t trust anyone or anything.”
Prowlers had been picking through the parking lot checking for unlocked doors.
“Nothing was missing but you could see someone had gone through my car,” the victim said. “First thing I did was look at my notifications and I went, ‘I got a picture of the guy that broke into my car!’”
The suspect was caught completely by surprise on her Owlcam, a motion-activated dashcam.
The owner of the car said, “It starts recording without any light as soon as the motion happens, but after 10 seconds, the light comes on and he was startled by that and he and his pals.”
She called police and handed over the tapes. She said, “He goes, ‘We don’t normally get these kinds of criminals on camera.’”
Now, a neighbor’s anger is giving way to amusement. Martin was shown the footage and said, “Oh my! Oh! Look at… that’s when he realized he was caught on camera! Look at that.”
“I just kept playing back the video because it was just so funny,” the car owner said.
But they hope it’s a lesson learned and maybe a chance to catch a criminal.
“I’m just glad that it’s getting the attention that it’s getting because I’m all about making sure people don’t get away with stuff,” stated the car owner.
Police are investigating and trying to track down the suspect.
Officers used the incident as an important reminder to always lock your car doors.
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