By HEATHER PYLES, CJ Staff Writer
‘Tis the season ... for vehicle break-ins?
It seems that way to local authorities. The Pulaski County Sheriff’s Department on Wednesday arrested two individuals in connection with a rash of vehicle break-ins and thefts of items from within the vehicles, and other officials are encouraging people to stay vigilant.
According to Pulaski County Sheriff Todd Wood, Roy E. Glover, 20, of 1900 Ringgold Road, Somerset, and Codey L. Rose, 19, of Lake Shore Drive, Burnside, were arrested Wednesday afternoon on theft charges in connection to a series of vehicle break-ins in the Ringgold Road, Green Hill Road, and Wilson Road area.
And the arrests may not end there.
“We have identified additional individuals who will be charged within the next several days,” Wood said.
While Wood couldn’t say the exact number of vehicles that were reportedly broken into during the spree, he said it was in “double digits” — possibly between 10 and 15 cars.
“Most of the cars that the suspects were able to get into and remove items from were unlocked,” Wood said, noting that if the suspects came across a locked car they would “simply move on to another vehicle.”
Wood added that many of the cars were parked in low visibility areas — on the side or in the back of homes with little light.
He also said several of the stolen items were recovered during the investigation.
Glover was charged with felony theft by unlawful taking including a firearm and felony complicity to unlawful access of a computer.
Rose was charged with felony complicity to commit theft (firearm) and felony unlawful access to a computer.
Both were lodged in the Pulaski County Detention Center on a $7,500 cash bond each.
Those incidents are similar to cases that have been reported in Ferguson, and Wood said there may possibly be a connection.
On Monday, David Moss, Chief of Ferguson Police Department, said he’d received reports that someone had been “prowling around” in unlocked cars in the city.
Those reports had filtered into FPD four of the last five nights before Monday, Moss said.
“That’s a lot for one little area,” Moss said.
But apparently, nothing is looking very tempting to the would-be thieves.
“Nothing has been taken yet,” Moss said.
Detective Shannon Smith, with the Somerset Police Department, said SPD hasn’t experienced an unusual number of car break-ins in the city, but he said it’s common — SPD receives a few reports of vehicle break-ins each week.
“I don’t think we’re having any streaks of them (car break-ins), but we do have them on a regular basis,” Smith said.
Moss and Smith both said the best way to prevent your vehicle from being broken into is to lock your car doors and roll up your windows, and to not leave any valuables in plain sight.
“We have a lot where a suspect sees a GPS system or a lady’s purse in plain view,” Smith said. “If items were not left in the car or in plain sight, that wouldn’t be a problem.”
Moss said the rash of incidents in Ferguson may be due to the holiday season, since many people leave items such as Christmas presents in their vehicles, and he encouraged people to make sure items such as gifts and shopping bags aren’t left in vehicles overnight and in plain sight.
Wood also said the best way to stop someone from entering your vehicle is to lock it, but he also said parking your vehicle in a high visibility area can make a huge difference in whether a would-be thief decides to enter your vehicle or not.
“Those simple things make it very difficult for an individual who does not want to be seen,” Wood said.
