Deputies probe thefts from vehicles

String of crimes primarily in Robinwood Drive area

November 30, 2007|By ERIN JULIUS

HAGERSTOWN ? Deputies Friday were investigating about $10,000 in thefts from vehicles and $5,000 in damage to vehicles primarily in the Robinwood Drive area, near Hagerstown Community College, Investigator Jim Sword of the Washington County Sheriff's Department said.

Deputies were working in conjunction with Maryland State Police and the Frederick City Police Department. A credit card stolen from one of them had been used in Frederick, Sword said.

A majority of the thefts involved vehicles parked on Mahogany Drive, Kellys Lane and Cristins Circle, Sword said.

The Herald-Mail interviewed victims of the thefts, who will not be named because no one has been charged in connection with the crimes.

According to victims, the thefts occurred overnight.

A laptop computer stolen from a vehicle parked in the Mahogany Drive area had been hidden in the back seat, the victim said. The laptop couldn't be seen from outside the vehicle, the victim said.

The string of about 25 thefts began on Nov. 8, according to information Sword provided.

The most recent thefts were reported Monday, he said.

One victim said his wife's vehicle and his neighbor's vehicle were ransacked the same night.

The robber took silver change and small bills from both vehicles, but left the pennies, the victim said. Both cars had been left unlocked.

His wife now makes it a habit to lock her car, the victim said.

He called the sheriff's department, and the police response was good, the victim said. Officers drove through the neighborhood on a regular basis following the thefts, he said.

Earlier this week, another victim's wallet was stolen. A small amount of cash and a few credit cards had been inside the wallet, the victim said. The wallet had been inside a vehicle parked in a driveway, but other vehicles in a nearby parking lot had also been broken into, the victim said.

Credit cards stolen from vehicles in the Robinwood Drive area have been used at gas stations in Frederick, Sword said in a phone interview Friday. The robbers were using the credit cards to purchase gift cards at the gas stations, Sword said. In surveillance video he watched Friday, Sword saw three different people involved in using the stolen credit cards, he said. The three were driving a green Dodge Intrepid, he said.

Anyone with information may call police at 240-313-2186.

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