Howard County Police Investigating Reports Of At Least 19 Car Break-Ins In Columbia Neighborhoods Along Route 108
COLUMBIA, Md. (WJZ) -- Howard County Police are investigating at least 19 recent car break-ins in Columbia neighborhoods along Route 108.
In surveillance video, a suspect is seen breaking out a car window to get inside.
"It's unusable, I only saw one car. It was the white Honda across the street that had a window smashed," Gary Coyle, a Columbia resident, said.
Coyle said his family moved their cars into the garage.
"We just took a couple of precautions, made sure outside cameras were working, and we told all the neighbors that we could," Coyle said.
Howard County Police say what's alarming is the number of vehicles hit in just one night.
"Fortunately, we have video, and we believe the same suspect is linked to multiple cases," Sherry Llewellyn, of the Howard County Police Department, said.
In most cases, cash, credit cards and purses were stolen.
"In this particular series, the person, or people involved, were clearly looking for money," Llewellyn said.
Now, police are reminding everyone to lock their car doors and not leave anything of value inside.
"Not even change, because change is enough to get someone interested to get inside your car and see what else might be there," Llewellyn added.
Coyle said it's important to look out for others.
"People look out for each other, cover each other's backs so it's a nice place to live," he said.
If you have any information on the suspect, additional video or believe you've been a victim, you should contact the Howard County Police department immediately.
