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CENTENNIAL, Colo. — Night thieves are trolling neighborhoods in a broad swath of Arapahoe County, targeting cars that have been left unlocked and parked on the street or in driveways.
Victims are warning their neighbors in Aurora, Centennial and unincorporated Arapahoe County via the Nextdoor app.
One user wrote: “Just FYI, we actually had someone steal my husband's tires off his truck about a month ago.”
A neighbor replied, “Tires?”
The person wrote back, “Yep, sometime between about midnight and 3 am they took his tires off his truck and left it on cinder blocks.”
Another victim wrote: "They apparently do drugs as they left 2 hypodermic needle caps in the front seat."
Sheriff Bulletin
A public bulletin issued by the Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office indicates that between June 8 and June 18, authorities received a dozen reports of vehicles break-ins in an area bounded by S. Chambers Road and E-470, and by E. Quincy Avenue and Arapahoe Road.
On Monday night, there were several more, said local resident April Roe. She was one of the most recent victims and said her car was one of four that was hit by thieves Monday. She said they "jacked open" the door to gain entry.
"Everything was ransacked," she said, adding that her sister's car was targeted too.
"They took cash, my favorite leather bag, ID's and shoes," she said. "It's crazy. It needs to be stopped."
Captured on Video
Sheriff's Office Spokeswoman Julie Brooks said "in some cases, one or two unknown suspects were seen or captured on video surveillance entering the vehicles."
The suspect vehicle, in one event, was a dark-colored Subaru.
Brooks said authorities don't know yet if all 12 of the recent incidents reported in Arapahoe County are connected.
She encouraged residents to stay aware of suspicious activity in their neighborhoods and to remove all valuables from their vehicles before locking the car. Anybody who spots something that seems off should call 911 as soon as possible, she said.
Miss Roe has a message for the thief or thieves.
"I don't deserve this," she said. "I wouldn't do this to you. You need to work for your things, like I work for mine."