When Paul Aversa lived in New York City, he said, he never had a problem with vehicle damage. Since he’s lived in Pittsburgh? The Brookline resident said his van has been damaged about once a year.

Aversa’s van, a vehicle he uses to transport materials in his work as a refrigerator repairman, was one of several that was hit in another vandalism-theft spree through Brookline and Beechview last week.

On the evening of May 8—while it was still daylight outside—Aversa parked his van behind his Brookline Boulevard apartment building, intending to run inside quickly and then return to the van.

The van was locked, but when he returned he saw that the windshield had been smashed and a Garmin GPS unit and stack of quarters had been stolen from the dashboard.

“I normally don’t leave the GPS right on the dashboard, but I thought I was just running in,” he said.

Aversa said it’s a constant battle against vandals in the neighborhood, and that his property has been damaged several times. He said he plans to install a security system at his home.

Three other reports of theft from a vehicle were made last week. Money was stolen from an unlocked vehicle parked near the Merrick Avenue and Brookline Boulevard intersection on May 8, between 4 and 6 p.m.

Someone broke the window of a vehicle in the 2000 block of West Liberty Avenue in Beechview on May 7 or May 8 and stole a lock box. In the 2300 block of Bensonia Avenue in Beechview on May 12, a vehicle was damaged and the mirrors were stolen around 2:30 a.m.

Also in this week’s blotter:

Burglary

• Jewelry was stolen from a home in the 1100 block of Brookline Boulevard on May 8 between 7 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.

Theft

• An unattended cell phone was stolen from a store in the 1800 block of West Liberty Avenue in Brookline on May 14 at 2 p.m.
• A woman reported that someone she knew stole money and cigarettes from her home in the 900 block of Berkshire Avenue in Brookline. The incident occurred May 10 between 6 p.m. and 11 p.m.
• Potted plants were stolen from the front porch of a home in the 2900 block of Kenilworth Street in Brookline between 11 p.m. on May 9 and 1 a.m. on May 10.
• Lawn decorations were stolen from the yard of a home in the 300 block of Brookline Boulevard in Brookline between 10 p.m. on May 9 and 6:30 a.m. on May 10.

Arrests

• Scott John of the North Side was arrested for possession of heroin in the 1300 block of Banksville Road in Banksville on May 8.

This information was supplied by Pittsburgh Police, and is a report for crimes and arrests in Zone 6. Where arrests or charges are mentioned, it does not indicate a conviction. A map of the Zone 6 area can be found here.

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