Vandals strike village

Thieves hit 12 vehicles in village

Police remind residents to lock up, remove valuables from cars

 

By Matthew Rice

 

Residents in two areas of the village woke up the morning of Dec. 29 to the unpleasant surprise of discovering items had been stolen from their vehicles.

Residents on North and South Maple and Pine streets as well as Broadview Terrace began calling police just after 6 a.m. reporting car doors left open, dome light on and items missing, Granville Police Sgt. David Williams said.

As in past break-ins, a thief or thieves entered a number of unlocked vehicles and took seemingly random items which in some cases were of lesser value than other items in plain sight left behind within the vehicles.

“There’s no rhyme or reason to it, it’s just easy in, easy out going for the convenient stuff,” Williams said. Police continue to investigate the break-ins and would not comment on possible suspect or suspects in the spree.

In at least one case an owner found a vehicle with the doors left wide open, but the contents of the vehicle undisturbed and apparently nothing missing.

The thief or thieves entered unlocked vehicles and removed items ranging from spare change to a laptop computer.

The total value of the missing items has not been determined, but is believed to be less than $1,000. Suspects could face petit larceny charges if caught, police said.

All of the vehicles had been left unlocked and in no case were the vehicles forcibly entered or damaged, Williams said.

Missing items include a laptop computer, a watch and Christmas presents, but mostly spare change.

Police said in one case spare change was taken from an unlocked vehicle while the GPS unit on the dashboard was left behind.

Police said it is also possible the thief or thieves were looking for any items they could easily exchange for drugs.

Thieves with drug habits frequently take stolen item to Rutland because they can readily be exchanged for drugs, police said.

Williams said police wanted to remind residents to protect themselves by locking vehicle doors.

Village residents can also reduce the likelihood of a break in by removing items of value from their vehicles when they are parked overnight.

This is not the first occurrence of vehicle break-ins within the village. In May police investigated after six vehicles were entered and items removed. In one case a vehicle was damaged when the car stereo was forcibly removed.

Police are advising anyone who might have seen anything or noticed something unusual from belongings in their vehicle being disturbed to realizing even minor items are missing to call the station at (518) 642-1414.