I live on Howard Ave right off Erie St. Tonight I went out to get something from my car parked in the back ally. I surprised a young man lurking around mine and my neighbors car- he jumped out of his skin when he saw me. I watched him walk away briskly and kept looking back at me. I thought this was really suspicious. I rooted for what I needed in my car and looked around to see if the young man was still around. If I didn't see him again I wouldn't have thought much of the incident but I happened to see him peering at me from behind a dumpster. When he saw me see him he turned away quickly and started walking away again. I watched after him and noticed he joined a group of two other young men hidden in the shadows in the ally by the Italia Bakery. I realized then that they were obviously looking to steal from cars/ backyards in the area. I called non emergency police to report suspicious activity/ what I saw and watched from my window (obviously.) Police were there within 5-10 mins and the guys were still there. The police spent about 20-30 mins talking to them and from what I could tell took them away in the car.
Just a warning to those in the Little Italy area!! (And everywhere) Lock your cars and homes and backyards. Especially around the holidays don't hide gifts in the car, etc!!