Car thefts reported to Sheriff’s Office

Three thefts of vehicle were reported to the Houston County Sheriff’s Office over a 24-hour period Oct. 5-6.

Capt. Jon Holland of the Houston County Sheriff’s Office said that while three thefts within 24 hours is unusual, two of those thefts were by acquaintances of the victims.

In one of the cases, Holland said a vehicle had been stored for parts at the residence of the

victim’s acquaintance.

“She had permission to leave the vehicle at another location,” Holland said. “We’ll follow up with that, but it may become a civil issue.”

In the final case, Holland said the victim may have loaned her car to someone she knew who then neglected to return it.

Only one of the three thefts seems to have been committed by a stranger, he said.

“A C-10 Chevrolet was taken, and that seems to be the real deal. Those trucks from time to time are stolen,” Holland said.

The Chevrolet pick-up truck was taken in the Waterford subdivision in the late night hours of Oct. 5 or early morning hours of Oct. 6, Holland added. The theft has been assigned to the investigation division, which is

following up.

“The homeowner parked the vehicle the evening before, went out the next morning to go to work and noticed the vehicle missing,” Holland said. “There’s some evidence there was forced entry into the vehicle, and the case is under investigation.”

Holland said that had vehicles of the same type been targeted or all three been from strangers rather than people the victims knew, the Sheriff’s Office might believe it had been from a theft ring

operation.

Vehicle owners should remember to lock their doors whenever they leave their vehicles. Keys should not be kept inside the vehicle, valuable items should be kept out of sight and owners should never leave the title inside the vehicle, Holland said.

In case an owner’s vehicle has been stolen, “They need to call 911 to make an immediate report,” Holland said. “They should maintain a record with a tag number and vin number, things of that nature. Keep titles stored separate from the vehicle and the value of the vehicle.”

Holland said that in the report of a theft, a deputy will take an initial report. In many cases there is little evidence at the scene to process.

“Sometimes the vehicle will be stolen by an individual who knows how to crank them and other times from a towing truck,” Holland said.

Once a report is filed, the vehicle’s information is entered into a statewide and nationwide stolen database so that law enforcement across the nation will know when the vehicle has been located. Anyone found inside of the stolen vehicle will be detained, and a follow-up investigation will take place. The owner will be notified so that he or she can recover the vehicle, or an insurance company can take possession of the vehicle.

“I would say that in a lot of cases we do make recovers, but sometimes after some time has elapsed, it’s not always in the condition it was in when it was taken,” Holland said. “Sometimes it’s stolen for parts, stripped out, missing wheels, body parts, transmission. Someone looking for transportation will just drive it till it runs out of gas and abandon it.”

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