Police Investigate String of Thefts from Autos

Montgomery County Police are investigating a rash of thefts from autos that has been going on since early April.

The pattern started around April 6 when someone started breaking into unlocked cars parked near Longdraft Road during overnight hours.

So far, police say there have been 22 such burglaries. It does not appear there is a pattern in the type of vehicles the suspect or suspects are breaking into, other than most of them are unlocked, police said.

Items like cash, coins, cell phones, and in one case a pair of Air Jordan sneakers which can retail for around $100, were stolen from the vehicles.

Officer Janelle Smith, a County Police spokeswoman, said there were other special items taken, but detectives are not releasing details about those items.

The reason the Air Jordan sneakers were included in the list of stolen items is because police think it is "probably younger teenagers doing this," Smith said, and a young teenager wearing a brand new pair of Air Jordan sneakers might arouse more suspicion than an adult.

She added that detectives are following several leads, but cannot discuss details about what they might be.

"The leads are connected to another incident, and if it got out that were were looking into that, it may cause them to dump a lot of stuff," Smith said.