‘It’s just not fair’: Residents at south Charlotte apartment complex fed up with break-ins

CHARLOTTE — From broken windows to stolen property, and now at least one stolen car, residents at a south Charlotte apartment complex have reached their limit with car break-ins. The recent string of crime has left residents at The Fairways at Piper Glen on edge, especially Ryan Rognstad.

“It’s just not an environment we want to be in,” Rognstad said. “I mean, safety is our biggest priority.”

A report from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department shows a 2013 Hyundai was stolen from the complex. Channel 9 has shared several stories about how susceptible these cars are to theft, thanks to a TikTok challenge that gives step-by-step instructions on how to steal Hyundais.

Although the challenge is relatively new, this is not the first time the Fairways at Piper Glen has seen crime. In July, three women told Channel 9 that a gunman wearing a mask broke into one of the units, tied them up, and robbed them. Just two months before, federal investigators were trying to figure out how hundreds of pieces of mail ended up in the garbage.

Events like these would cause anyone to want to move, but many like Rognstad are stuck with nowhere else to go.

“We’re in the process of looking for a house, hopefully here soon, hopefully sooner because of all these issues,” Rognstad said.

Rognstad also told Channel 9 that he wants management to put up signs and more security cameras to deter thieves.

“You’ve got to think that when they’ve got 2,300 units, everybody is paying $1,800 a month,” Rognstad said. “I think it’s in the budget to have some sort of security, especially after these events in the last year.”

Channel 9′s Anthony Kustura drove through the complex Wednesday and did not see the security officer the complex says they have.

According to Rognstad, the only warning residents have gotten from complex management is an email advising them to lock their cars and remove valuables; he doesn’t think this is enough.

“Every day I spend an hour unloading everything so it won’t get stolen,” Rognstad said. “It’s just not fair to anybody that all these people got broken into.”

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