The thieves broke the windows to get into the vehicles, he said, and he has since heard from other agencies in the area that they are also investigating vehicle break-ins that may be connected.
“Most of them seem to be happening during the daytime when people are out at baseball games or soccer games or the grocery store,” Hogan said.
There are two people of interest Springboro police are investigating, police reported. They were caught on camera driving a Jeep Grand Cherokee trying to cash stolen checks at a bank in Huber Heights. The investigation is still open and anyone with information is asked to call Hogan at 937-748-6849.
Miami Valley authorities have investigated crime ring members committing vehicle break-ins. The members have hit many jurisdictions up and down I-75 from Michigan to Kentucky. Dayton police have investigated about the same number of thefts from motor vehicle incidents as it did last year, data provided by the department shows, while the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office said it has seen a decrease in vehicle break-ins this year.
The Springboro incidents may appear to be random, Hogan said, but it’s not certain. Other incidents have been reported throughout Montgomery County and Tipp City, Hogan said.
“The northern agencies have contacted me ... where they may have some of the same crimes that are current in their jurisdictions and possibly some of the same vehicles involved,” Hogan said. “Right now we’re trying to work together to see if those are in fact the same people and/or groups of people,”
The Tipp City Police Department reported on its social media this month that it had a recent increase in “smash and grab type thefts from vehicles in our parks and other businesses.”
The best way to keep property safe is to not leave it in a vehicle, Hogan said. Locking the vehicle is a good idea, but Hogan noted that there were many people in the area the day the 11 vehicle windows were smashed in the park and no one heard anything. Glass in vehicles can be broken without a loud noise with specialized tools, he said.
“The biggest thing that you can do to help prevent these is to take all your valuables out of your car, especially purses, computers, cell phones,” he said. “Anything that would be a quick buck for somebody to make.”
If valuables must remain in a vehicle, Hogan said it’s a good idea to obscure them from the view of would-be thieves outside.
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