Lions fans frustrated after several cars broken into during Lions-Vikings game
By Veronica Ortega
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DETROIT (WWJ) — Detroit Police say four vehicle break-ins were reported in the downtown area over the weekend, including at least two during the Detroit Lions game Sunday night.
Like most Lions fans, Matthew Meckley was looking forward to celebrating the team’s pivotal win on Sunday. Instead, he had to file a police report.
Meckley was parked just off St. Antoine and Clinton streets during the game.
He says when he walked up to his car, he found a mysterious box in the front passenger seat that didn’t belong to him and about $1,000 of his own Lions fan gear stolen from the back seat of his vehicle.
What was inside the mystery box? Lions’ hats.
“Maybe they didn’t like those hats, but they left those,” Meckley said.
Instead, the thieves took one of Meckley’s most prized possessions.
“One of my Carhartt jackets that I had somebody within the community embroider, and it was something that the players were wearing, too,” Meckley said.
Meckley says he wasn’t the only victim.
“There was another vehicle a little bit behind me who was also broken into in the same area of the vehicle, and there was a screwdriver right next to their vehicle. So, I’m thinking they use the screwdriver to get in,” Meckley said.
Fragments of shattered glass can still be found on the street where Meckley was parked, a bitter reminder about what happened.
“It’s an unfortunate thing to happen, but you live and learn,” Meckley said.
Luckily, he has insurance that will cover the cost of repairs to his vehicle.
“Tomorrow, I head back home to New York and get it all fixed,” Meckley said.
Meckley is not going to let this incident stop him from coming to Detroit to cheer on the Lions in the future.
“Let’s go back to the drawing board and come up with a better plan to be more proactive and safer next time,” he said.
Detroit police recommend parking in well-lit areas downtown, to avoid leaving valuable possessions in plain sight and always making sure your car is locked.
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