Police were called to the CESJDS Upper School parking lot at 6:58 p.m. yesterday to respond to an alleged theft from a 2014 Chrysler Town and Country.

The owner of the car, Lisa Stone, was at the Upper School to watch her son Ayden Stone play soccer for the Berman Hebrew Academy Cougars in their game against the JDS Lions. Stone parked her car at around 5:30 p.m., and returned to her car at 6:55 p.m. after the game. As she was about to get into the car, she found the front passenger window smashed in and her purse with its contents stolen. Among the stolen items was a wallet containing cash, credit and debit cards, and a pair of glasses. Stone said that she left her purse in “plain sight” on the passenger seat.

“I walked to the field to watch the game so I didn’t want to carry my purse to sit out at the field,” Lisa Stone said.

Lisa Stone parked her car on the furthest right aisle of the parking lot, near the tennis courts. She intentionally left space between her car and the next car over because she has only had the car for less than a month, and she was trying to avoid scratching it up. She locked the car and found it still locked when she returned after the soccer game.

“I couldn’t believe it,” Lisa Stone said. “It’s the parking lot at JDS, it’s filled with people.”

There were no witnesses and officers on the scene did not locate an item that would have been used to smash the window. Currently, there are no suspects. The police department is looking into whether or not there is surveillance video that could be used to find suspects or a suspect vehicle. School security did not find anything on the school’s cameras, which have limited reach in the parking lot. The theft occurred in the portion of the student lot furthest away from the building, where the cameras are, so any image of that section is blurred when zoomed in.

Director of Facilities Israel Moskowitz said that there is no clear way to prevent incidents like the one Tuesday. The school is located on county land, so it cannot close itself off, which allows anyone to walk in and out of the parking lot. Vehicle theft is a common crime in Montgomery County, and a hard one to defend.

“We urge our residents that when you exit your vehicles, lock your vehicle doors and window, remove all your valuables from your vehicle,” Montgomery County Police Sergeant Rebecca Innocenti said. “If you cannot do that either secure your valuables in your trunk or place them out of sight to reduce your possible victimization of this crime.”

Last Updated: 3:54 p.m.

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