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By Matt Burks
Courier Staff After receiving an unusually high number of vehicle break-in reports throughout Benton this month, Sgt. Kevin Russell said detectives feel confident that the culprits will soon be brought to justice.
“Our detectives are currently working on leads and we are interviewing at least one suspect,” he said. “We feel pretty confident that we’ll make some arrests soon.”
Russell said a total of 30 vehicles have been broken into in different areas of Benton, and the estimated value of the items stolen exceeds $5,000. Streets hit in the crime spree include East Maple, North Border, River Oaks, Volcanic Drive, Red Oak Circle, Carwin Drive, Houston Drive, Foxwood, Edison Avenue, Congo Road, Michael Drive, Interstate 30, Troy Drive, Stonewall Drive, Legacy Drive, Clover Hill Drive, Bud Street, and Frendall Road. In all, more than six different areas or blocks of streets in Benton were hit with vehicle break-ins, and the River Oaks Subdivision “got hit the hardest by far,” Russell said.
“Most of the vehicle break-ins happened at residents’ homes, but a few were in business parking lots,” he said. “We want people to know that no matter where they are, whether they are at home or at a business, their vehicles can be vandalized.”
According to several police reports, most of the vehicles were broken into between midnight and 8 a.m., but a few were reported broken into during daytime hours.
Items reported stolen include car stereos, speakers, large amounts of cash, credit cards, purses, GPS tracking devices, spare vehicle and house keys, checkbooks, debit cards, driver’s licenses, Medicaid cards and even immigration papers. There were also a few miscellaneous items such as USB cords reported missing, but more importantly, police said, there were a few reports of Social Security cards being stolen. According to authorities, this can result in identity theft, which can cause problems for a victim for months or years.
To prevent a vehicle break-in and possible identity theft, Russell suggested a few tips. He stressed that people should not leave their valuables in their vehicles and should never leave a vehicle unlocked, even if it is for a few seconds or minutes.
“I would say that more than 90 percent of these cases involved an unlocked vehicle,” he said.
In a few of the break-ins, the victims found that their credit cards or debit cards already had been used at several merchants in Benton before the victim could cancel the card.
However, several of the reports said that fingerprints were found either on or inside the vandalized vehicle. Officials have not said whether this led to the interviews of a suspect.
“We are interviewing a person or persons of interest in this case right now,” Russell said. “Mainly, though, we want people to know we are hoping to solve this case soon, and to make them aware of things they can do to prevent a vehicle break-in.
“One other thing that people might want to consider is if they keep their vehicle outside a garage at their home, they may want to look into investing in a motion light,” he added. “That can often scare off a would-be burglar. There are other security measures such as car alarms they can think about putting on their vehicles as well.”
For more information or to report a crime, call the Benton Police Department at 776-5948 or 315-TIPS.
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