Caught on camera: Thief uses rock to smash car window, steal backpack

DENVER (KDVR) — A thief is on the run after a vehicle break-in was caught on camera in broad daylight in Denver.

Deanna Palmer told FOX31 she locked her vehicle before running into a store near Mississippi Avenue and South Parker Road on Wednesday.

“It really wasn’t even a minute later that two guys came inside and told me that some guy was outside smashing my window in,” Palmer said. 

Shocked and in disbelief, Palmer said she walked outside to find the driver’s window shattered and her backpack stolen.

“Joke’s on him, because there’s really nothing he had taken. But the fact of the matter is he broke my window, and that costs money,” Palmer said.

Video of the crime shows the suspect drive up next to Palmer’s parked vehicle and use a rock to shatter the window. The suspect reaches through the broken window to grab Palmer’s backpack and takes off. 

“He got nothing out of it, and at the same time, I have to pay the cost,” Palmer said.

Theft victim shares a warning for others

She said it would cost about $400 to repair the window. 

“My warning to other people is don’t leave purses, backpacks — even if it’s just for 30 seconds if you’re going into the store, keep it with you,” Palmer said. “It was so random. It’s never happened to me before.”

Palmer said she hopes sharing her story warns others of the type of crime that can happen in broad daylight.

“It’s an individual that’s not afraid to get the job done, and he’s going to do whatever it takes and that’s really scary,” she said.

Palmer said she’s in the process of filing a police report and encourages any other victims in this case to make a report too.