Savannah Police investigating string of car break-ins in Magnolia Park

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) - The Savannah Police Department is reporting a spike in car break-ins in one neighborhood.

Eastside precinct officers found at least six vehicles broken into, with valuables inside stolen in the Magnolia Park neighborhood. In one of those car break-ins, police say keys to another vehicle were taken, and that vehicle stolen. It was later reported involved in a hit-and-run.

The Eastside precinct social media post said a gun and handicap placard were also stolen in a few of the other instances.

According to police, in most cases none of the valuables were necessarily in plain sight, and the cars were broken into by the criminal(s) breaking glass. Because of that, one officer said sometimes that leads to people leaving doors unlocked to prevent damage. That’s a move police still recommend against.

“I would still say lock your car doors. Make sure that all of your valuables are out of your car so that way if it does get smashed, if your window does get smashed or anything damaged, that’s just one less thing you have to worry about...having property missing, having your passport missing, having your firearm missing and then being used in a major crime later on down the road, possibly even used in murder or a shooting or something of that nature,” Cpl. Sharif Lockett said.

The corporal said someone was arrested about 24 hours after the string of break-ins in Magnolia Park trying to steal a vehicle just north of that area. While there were some similarities with the cases, police are still working to determine if there are any connections.

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