Irony of ironies...Rosarito Mayor gets robbed...in San Diego!
En route to security summit, Rosarito mayor is crime victim
By Diane Bell, UNION-TRIBUNE COLUMNIST
Tuesday, December 8, 2009 at midnight
Rosarito Beach Mayor Hugo Torres, 73, says he became a crime victim for the first time last Thursday.
And the crime wasn’t in Mexico. Torres parked his 2008 GMC sport utility vehicle at San Diego’s Fashion Valley mall to do some shopping. He was on his way to the second Binational Mayors of the Californias Summit in Santa Ana.
His SUV, parked in a covered lot near Macy’s, was locked and the alarm was activated, but a thief still was able to get in and steal the mayor’s traveling bag, briefcase and two cell phones. Also missing was Torres’ portfolio and papers for the meeting he was about to attend.
One of the topics on the summit agenda was binational security — though security at U.S. shopping malls during the holiday season was not among the items scheduled for discussion.
Torres, who owns the Rosarito Beach Hotel, said he mentioned the theft to a mall security guard but, because of his tight schedule, didn’t have time to file a formal police report or view parking lot videotapes.
“I have insurance, so my items were covered,” he said yesterday. “But I just wanted them to know. Maybe they could prevent it from happening to someone else.”
He said his SUV, which is equipped with bulletproof glass, was undamaged, and he thinks the thief may have used an electronic entry device.
“I have never before been burglarized or robbed, or had anything stolen from me,” said Torres, Rosarito’s first mayor when the city incorporated in 1995. He served one three-year term then and was re-elected in December 2007.
Fashion Valley spokeswoman Francine Miley, while not commenting on the Torres break-in, said auto-related incidents have decreased significantly since the mall installed security cameras in all parking areas in 2008. Guards patrol by vehicle, by Segway and on foot.