Six car break-ins in Centerville subdivision, police urge residents to lock up

CENTERVILLE, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – Centerville Police are sending a message to residents after several reported car burglaries all in the same area. Half a dozen cases of car thefts–all in one night–all in the same neighborhood. The suspects are still on the loose.

“We got reports that there were six ‘entering autos’ at different times ranging from 2:00 A.M. to the last one recorded at 8:00 A.M.,” said Centerville Police Department’s Captain Billy Boney.

Now, a normally peaceful suburb is on edge and Centerville PD is on call in response to the string of car burglaries that happened Wednesday night.

“It’s normally (really) quiet, (really) quiet and there’s not normally a lot of people coming in and out accept if they’re supposed to be here,” said Resident Jane Minton.

Captain Boney says even in a quiet suburb like Eagle’s Harbor, ‘entering autos’ aren’t unusual to get calls on, but there was something unusual about these six cases.

“In all of those ‘entering autos’, the vehicles were left unlocked. There were no broken windows or anything like that,” he said.

The crooks managed to get away with a laptop, a few gift cards, and a pair of designer sunglasses.

“It’s surprising (this happened) over here because this is the first time I’ve heard about it. I’ve heard about it in the other neighborhoods maybe a few streets over but never here,” said Minton.

Minton says the number of people who didn’t lock their car doors came as even more of a surprise. “We never leave our car doors unlocked,” she added.

But Boney says it can happen anywhere to anyone at anytime. “If you leave your laptop on the seat or your pocket book in the car, if they have to break the window, they’ll break the window out to come in and get it,” he warned.

So residents need to do their part and take precautions. “Please lock your cars and your house doors and homes,” he continued.

Captain Boney says they haven’t made any arrests in relation to the car break-ins and at this point in the investigation, it’s difficult to tell whether they’re all related, but Centerville PD is actively working to find the culprits.

The police department has stepped up its patrolling and increased the number of units in the area.

If you have any information regarding any of these incidents, contact the Centerville Police Department at (478) 953-4222.