Elderly residents say someone is taking their scooters

KFDM News by Justin HintonA group of elderly residents at a Beaumont Housing Community are frustrated.They say someone is going around stealing their scooters after management requested they leave them outside.At least three have turned up missing, raising questions about security.Harold Odom locks his door at the crossing apartments on Lucas every time he heads out to run errands in his scooter.But instead of passing his second scooter, the one he was trying to sell, he heads down an empty corridor.Yeah, i had it plugged in right here at this plug. It went missing Tuesday. afternoon. I
went floor to floor looking, Odom said. I thought maybe somebody had taken it for a
joyride seeing how it rode, and then I realized it was nowhere in the
building.Two days later, the same thing happened to Donald Edwards who must now use a walker.A friend interprets for him.I struggle real hard with that walker. It’s hard, he said. Sometimes I fall when I’m trying to walk on it.That same friend says Eedwards’ scooter was taken right from his doorstep.He
parked his scooter outside his door to charge it. He went on in because
he was going to mop his floor and pick up his apartment. And when he
come out, the scooter was gone. It was stolen just that fast.It’s
a big concern because obviously these are seniors. They’re living their
retired life there and you don’t want them to have any problems at all,
so if there’s any issues going on in that community we encourage them
to give us a call so we can be aware of it so we can try and fix that
problem.Lionel is also trying to find a solution.Patrolling hallways and checking doors to make sure everyone stays safe and belongings are kept with their owner.I
go from one side to the other and circle the entire building checking
every single exit and I’ll just kind of pace out front and watch the
front and then I’ll go back to my apartment for about 30 minutes to an
hour and just observe the traffic coming in and out, he said.Management at the crossing apartments is aware of the problem.They sent a letter to residents addressing concerns and encouraging
them to report any suspicious activity to the office or police.They also said this in a statement:Because
neither management nor the owner is responsible for your personal
property you are strongly encouraged to secure or disable any mobility
devices left outside your apartment. All residents need to take responsibility for safeguarding their own property for each other.