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Friday, 09 May 2008 |
By KAREN CAMPBELL
and ANDREA POTEET
Staff Writers
Potential thieves are gaining access to vehicles throughout the county because owners aren’t locking them up.
“I think people take it for granted here,” Auglaize County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Mike Eberle told the Wapakoneta Daily News.
With no specific area in the county targeted, he warned that car owners everywhere should be taking extra precautions with their vehicles.
“They need to be locking their vehicles,” Eberle said Friday.
Recent break-ins have occurred in Wapakoneta, New Knoxville and in other rural areas in the county. Vehicles being entered are for the most part unlocked, but some have been parked on city streets, in driveways and in garages. “They’re not just picking certain areas,” Eberle said. “It’s happening to the south and east of Wapakoneta, in New Knoxville and close to Fryburg. A lot of vehicles are being entered and they’re taking whatever they can find — CDs, money, purses.”
Wapakoneta City Police Chief Dave Webb said the recent break-ins could have been avoided if owners had just locked their cars.
On Friday morning, Wapakoneta Police officers received two complaints about unlocked vehicles that had been entered overnight.
Three similar reports were filed Wednesday, Webb said.
In one of the reports Friday, a resident at 804 Glynwood Road called to report someone entered her unlocked garage door and taken her purse out of a minivan parked inside overnight. While the purse was later recovered, the wallet was missing.
“It’s a little different if you’ve got a car parked on a street,” Webb said. “If they’re getting into an attached garage, that’s burglary. If they’re brave enough to do that, what else are they brave enough to do?”
Webb said felony charges can be imposed for people entering garages.
Throughout Wapakoneta, reports of vehicles broken into came from residents on Lima, Benton, Murray and Silver streets.
Robin Garee, 904 Lima St., reported at 3:12 a.m. Friday that two of her vehicles, a 1999 Ford Taurus and a 1999 Mercury Tracer, were entered during the night. No items were reported missing.
At 4:45 Friday, Marty Borchers, 201 E. Benton St., reported two vehicles he owned were entered during the night. He was not sure if any items were taken.
Stacey Pickens, 521 Murray St., reported at 6:52 a.m. Wednesday her vehicle parked near her home was entered and money stolen from a purse.
Glen Miller, 203 W. Silver St., reported at 8:20 a.m. Wednesday two of his vehicles were entered and items were found strewn across his property.
A resident of 09639 Winemiller Road near Fryburg reported to deputies a person entered a garage to gain entry into a vehicle on Thursday morning.
In that case, Eberle said someone used a garage door opener from an unlocked truck to gain access to the garage sometime after 10 p.m. Wednesday and before 7 a.m. Thursday, and once inside stole not only the 2007 Chevy truck, but an ATV and other personal property.
None of the items have been recovered.
Six vehicles were broken into overnight Tuesday in New Knoxville. Some were parked on streets, others in driveways and two were in a garage. Someone broke into a garage on Hamilton Street just outside Wapakoneta city limits early Thursday morning. Nothing appeared to be missing.
Webb said there’s a variety of reasons why area residents fail to lock their vehicles and fall prey to break-ins.
“Sometimes they just simply forget,” Webb said. “Sometimes they don’t care because they don’t have anything valuable, they would rather have someone open the door than smash the windows out.”
Webb said there have been few incidents in the city of car windows smashed by attempted burglars. If a door is locked, most will move on, he said.
“To keep people out of your vehicles, it’s basic stuff,” Webb said. “Lock your doors.”
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Last Updated ( Monday, 12 May 2008 )
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