New rash of vehicle thefts plagues Libby

Sometime between 8 p.m. on Sunday, March 29, and Monday morning, Trista Fisher’s car was rummaged through, again.

“This is actually the third time our cars have had something happen to them over the last six to eight months,” she said. “It’s just crazy. It’s sad that whoever is doing this is that low. I have a pretty calm neighborhood most of the time.”

In February, Libby police arrested housemates Zachary Trager, Tyler Davis and Isaac Macy for stealing two cars and for the theft of items from 26 vehicles in the Libby area.

The housemates are suspected of being members of an opportunistic ring of thieves responsible for the spate of thefts that occurred over several months. It was hoped the arrests would decrease the number of vehicle break-ins in the Libby area.

However, since Feb. 27 there have been at least 23 calls to Lincoln County Dispatch with reports of cars broken into or someone attempting to break in.

In each of the two days following the break in to Fisher’s car, two car windows were broken out. One call reported nothing was missing and the other reported a purse was taken.

Libby Police Chief Jim Smith said the numbers don’t reflect what he sees currently within Libby city limits.

“I’ve been kind of looking at our stats and we’ve actually gone down on theft calls,” he said. “We were getting five or six calls a week, but since we’ve arrested and or charged six or seven individuals since October the thefts have gone down.”

According to the Montana Board of Crime Control, theft from motor vehicle was the second highest occurring theft in 2011, amounting to 25 percent of the total number of thefts. In 2013, the data from the organization shows a rate of 4.2 thefts from vehicles per 1,000 residents in Western Montana.

Most of the calls to Lincoln County Dispatch reported very little loss of valuables, but were just to inform law enforcement so it could be logged. Several vehicles were unlocked, which provided easy access to the cars’ contents.

Numerous callers reported change stolen from their vehicles. One person reported $120 was taken. Several purses have been taken. Another caller said a large amount of money was taken from her purse, and one credit card that was stolen was reportedly used at several locations in Montana and Idaho.

A caller from Dome Mountain said they had change taken from their vehicle and the thief left behind pine needles and a Christmas bow on the driver’s seat.

Lincoln Count Sheriff Roby Bowe said he has also not been informed of any outbreaks of thefts from vehicles in the area. “As of right now it looks random. It doesn’t look like it’s any one group. Of course that can change,” he said.

Smith said that each time his department has made arrests the number of thefts has decreased dramatically, for a while.

“You arrest one and there’s always going to be another to take their place,” he said.

Fisher said nothing of real value was taken from her vehicle. The police department called her the following day informing her that items from her vehicle were found at the city tennis courts.

Fisher said we wishes there was more work in the area so people wouldn’t have to resort to stealing from vehicles. Nevertheless, she said, it’s no excuse.