San Diego

Police are alerting motorists parking in the Old Town area that a rash of car burglaries has hit the tourist spot since the beginning of the year, Police Department spokesman Bill Robinson said.

More than 300 car burglaries have been reported by motorists, mostly tourists, in the Old Town area since Jan. 1, he said.

Witnesses have told police that the thieves watch people leave their cars, then smash the car windows to take valuables inside, Robinson said.

“The reason tourists are hit in many cases is because they’re in town for just a weekend or the holiday, and then they return home and cannot return to San Diego to testify,” he said.

Robinson said anyone who has information on the series of thefts is asked to call Detective Emmitt Henderson at 236-7310.