San Jose car theft caught on surveillance camera

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) -- In the Willow Glen area of San Jose, police recovered a stolen car, but the thieves got away. However, to the owner's surprise, the auto theft was caught on camera.

San Jose resident Neal Jack was excited when he realized his home surveillance camera recorded the crime in front of his house. Now, he has inspired at least one other neighbor to buy a similar system.

Jack told ABC7 News, "It was very shocking watching the video, how comfortable they were. They just kind of walked like they were walking down the street."

That is, until the two young people move in to steal a car parked on the street in front of Jack's home. They worked quietly and it took less than three minutes for thieves to steal the car Jack's daughter drives.

When he woke up in the morning and noticed the car was missing, he turned to the camera mounted on his house. Little did he know the camera would catch such a dramatic crime. Jack installed it over the holidays after someone stole packages off the porch.

With the car theft recorded, Jack called the police. Officers spotted the Honda later that afternoon. They tell Jack three young people ran from the car leaving behind a knife and marijuana pipe. The only damage is to the ignition switch.

News travels fast in their neighborhood and on social media. Ruben Navarro saw the video posted on Facebook and came by to ask Jack about his cameras, since he almost had a car stolen a few months ago.

Navarro said, "We definitely want to put some sort of surveillance video in. In case anything does happen, we'll at least have a face or something we could put to a police report."

That's the part Jack is happy with as well. He said, "I was actually kind of excited because I had the exact pinpoint times and suspects on camera."

Those suspects are still on the loose.