Reporter: Andy Cordan
Photojournalist: Al Devine

Some movie-goers at Hollywood 27 were the victims. While customers were inside, Metro police say four men were breaking into cars outside.

21 cars have been stolen from the Hollywood 27 parking lot this year. 14 of those cars were taken in June and the first part of July, so Metro auto theft detectives sat on this lot Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Their hard work paid off.

Friday night, David Davis left the theater at 100 Oaks Mall when the 25 year old spots a police officer waiting for him at his car, a 1992 Chevy Caprice. Davis is lucky his car was not stolen.

"Friday night around 9:30 observed white Lincoln come thru the parking lot scoping out various cars," said Metro Police Sgt. David Elmore.

The white Lincoln is now parked at the Metro impound lot. Police tell News 2 they watched as these four men got out of that car and allegedly broke into Davis' Caprice. Police quickly took the men into custody.

Authorities tell News 2 David Maurice Horton, one of the four men arrested Friday night, is the owner of the white Lincoln, and it is a car that may also link the 20 year old to at least one other auto theft from the mall.

"Officers spotted the same white Lincoln belonging to Horton on Thompson Lane beside another car they ran both tags, nothing suspicious at the time but later that night the 2nd car turned up stolen."

That car was a Buick Lesabre that is still missing. So far the four men are charged with auto burglaries and possession of burglary tools, but more charges are possible.

Here is WTVF, channel 5's article:

Police Arrest Four Men For Car Break-ins

Metro Police have arrested four men for breaking into cars outside a popular movie theater.

The men were caught outside the Hollywood 27 theatre at 100 Oaks Friday.

Police said they have been staking out the lot since thefts began in early July.

The men arrested were suspected of being involved in a series of at least 20 break-ins.

The suspects were identified as Timothy A. Flemings, 18, David M. Horton, 20, Andrew M. Gentry, 19 and Roderick A. Walton, 19.

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Many years ago (over 12) we would find the bank closest to each theater, and open a simple account there, just to make night drops. It was thought a bit safer.

A few years later, a different company buys our theaters. They make a deal to consolidate all accounts to one bank. So now, managers must make their drops at the nearest "XXXX" bank, some over 3-4 miles away. I remember thinking; "Here is an account-type who does not care for people's safety."

The managers were not hurt, according to the NBC News report.

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Here is their "article":

quote:

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The Hottest Spot in Huntsville for Car Vandalism

HUNTSVILLE, Ala., Dec. 13 - 3312 South Parkway. It's an address police know well. That's where Hollywood 18 is... the hottest spot in Huntsville for car vandals.

"This whole windshield was shattered. They had used some kind of tool or instrument," says a woman who doesn't want her name given.

She just got her car back from the body shop. On Thanksgiving night, she parked it near the side of the movie theatre. When she returned, it was smashed, keyed, and just about everything she had inside was gone.

"(I) went back inside and asked for security, and they explained they didn't have any security. They hired off-duty police on the weekends."

The problem is not new. According to police records more than 300 cars have been broken into at Hollywood 18 in the last three years. Last month alone, there were 37.

"We have constantly recommended to management to put in extra lights and video cameras," says Huntsville Police Wendell Johnson.

Even though the theatre is not breaking any laws, Huntsville Police say management knows there's a problem, and is doing nothing to fix it.

"We're not getting much cooperation at all. Hopefully that'll change," said Johnson.

48News went to theatre management, and we, too, left empty-handed.

"I'm sorry, I can't comment. You'll have to contact our home office," the Hollywood manager on duty told us.

Our calls to Regal Cinemas were not returned. Frustration... but nothing compared to that of all those victims.

"I won't be going back there. I'm just frustrated. They're fully aware this is going on, and I'm not hearing anything from management that they're doing anything to improve the situation," said the unidentified victim.

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Evans A Criswell
Huntsville-Decatur Movie Theatre Information Site

The problem is securing a parking lot is hard. City police officers are almost always in our lot (between calls when they are working on reports)and the ushers who keep order on our porch are also on the lookout. We foil quite a few, but usually have 3 or 4 a month. However, if you have 500 cars in the lot, on three sides of the building, you can't watch them all.

When I was working for Wometco in Miami, if there was one break-in/theft per month it was cause for concern, and Miami is a lot rougher than Huntsville.

I'll agree the keying sounds personal. I'd also bet the police and city council have more power than they are letting on. The theatre could be declared an "attractive nuisance" and the license to operate revoked until the problem was addressed. The tactic is commonly used on bars or places where drug deals are made.

Whether that is a large number or not depends on many factors. If there are at most 100 cars in the lot on Saturday night it is a signifigantly larger problem that if there are 1000 cars in that lot.

The problem with car burglaries is that they can be done quickly, covertly, and they are a low risk crime. I have had theatre staff foil many of them, and they frequently get plate numbers. Unfortunately, most of those plate numbers come back stolen and are quickly discarded by the thieves. Actually, I can't thin of one case where that plate number has been good.

Another thing to consider is if the property is a leased proprty or an owned one. If it is leased, the parking lot is probably the responsibility of the landlord, not the theatre. Additionally, cameras are useless. If you have a wide angle shot, you won't have the quality necessary for the video to be useful. If you have it zoomed in, you will wither have blind spots, or will need a ton more cameras.

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Further, the idea of shutting down a business because of numerous unresolved complaints is not "absurd." Towns and cities grant licenses and COs and they can remove them at any time if the terms aren't met. I remember working on opening one theatre in Alabama where a pistol toting inspector came walking in and announced that if I was working on plumbing or electrical circuits he would haul me off to jail. About the time he finished his comments, his friend the plumber popped out of the bathroom, they chatted for five minutes, and work continued.

Typically, there is a pattern to parking lot thefts. For example, most will occur on Friday or Saturday nights when there is a good selection. Autos stolen will also often end up in the same chop-shop or neighborhood. Sometimes there will be an insider, who could even be a security guard.

One method of catching the culprits that works fairly well is to *secretly* have an officer with binoculars and walkie talkie on the building roof and another parked in an unmarked car nearby.

Having two cars per week stolen or vandalized over an extended period is not normal, nor is it acceptable, nor is there any excuse for any business to allow it to continue. I would suggest to Evans that he make a note of the problem on his website and advise people that they can contact the police department to find out whether the problem has been resolved. I would never attend a theatre with such an unresolved problem.

Another thing that needs to be considered about the AL theatre in question. What are the city's and state's regs on security? Do they allow for off duty police officers to work secuity jobs? What are the licensing requiremts for private guards? What are the power of private guards? What is the staffing level of the police dept (do they have enough officers to make patrols, or are officers going from one call to another all night)? Who bears responsibility for the parking lot (theatre or landlord)? What is the MO of the perps (do they hit once and move on, or are they hitting several cars at once)? What is the demographics of the area?