Burglaries and car thefts at gated apartment complex near Las Vegas Strip leave residents on edge

Madison Kimbro and Linsey Lewis

7 minutes ago

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Residents of an apartment complex near the Las Vegas Strip say they are in a constant struggle to keep their cars safe after multiple reports of car thefts and break-ins in the complex's gated parking lot.

“I’ve seen car break-ins, homeless people in the garage, and cars being vandalized and stolen,” shared one resident who lives at Elysian at the Palms.

The apartment complex located right next to the Palms Casino has on-site security, but despite that and a locked garage, there have been several incidents over the past month. Ryan Carino moved into the complex two weeks ago and he already has his own story to tell.

“I parked my car in the morning, then early in the evening I came back, started my car and found that my catalytic converter had been stolen. I contacted security and filed a complaint with the Metropolitan Police,” Carino said.

According to Carino, several residents are part of a chat group where they share their own experiences and recently the complaints have become endless.

“There’s one guest whose car has been broken into twice and tons of people have reported missing items,” Carino added.

Although there are security cameras on the ground floor, there are none when residents go up to the deck and that is where these thefts took place.

Christi Ahnee, a local resident, also had her Jeep broken into two weeks ago. She believes it was the baton on her steering wheel that stopped the thieves from stealing her car.

“We went to management and told them, but they just ignored the situation and said they were going to tighten security, and they do that for the first two days after an incident happens, and then we don't see them anymore,” Ahnee shared.

As for who is behind this situation, many residents believe it is an inside job.

“This is definitely someone who knows people's parking habits.”

In the Spring Valley area, Metropolitan Police reported a 3 percent decrease in car thefts compared to the same period last year.