More than 40 vehicles were burglarized in Winfield over the weekend. Police arrested five juveniles for conspiracy to commit burglary, several counts of burglary, several counts of theft and criminal damage, according to Winfield Police Chief Jerry DeVore.
People living in the area where the burglaries occurred are asked to check their vehicles closely to see if anything is missing. DeVore said the area runs from Alexander Street west to Cherry Street and from Seventh Street south to 15th Street.
Numerous reports of vehicle burglaries were received by the police department on Saturday. Items had been removed from many of the vehicles.
“While taking one of the reports, Master Patrolman Shawn Love conducted a search of one of the neighborhoods where several of the reports originated from. During his search, he located several items of stolen property,” DeVore said.
Officers developed several suspects in the case as a result of the location of the items, and the juveniles were later taken into custody.
“A lot of what was removed from the vehicles were fairly small items such as lighters, gum, and loose change, but there were several larger items such as a computer, MP3 players, knives and financial cards taken as well,” DeVore said.
Most of the items recovered have been tied to specific cases but there are some items that have not been linked with a specific vehicle. All but one of the approximately 40 vehicles entered were unlocked. It is important to keep vehicles locked to prevent theft, and important to remember to keep any items of value out of sight even if the car is locked, according to DeVore.
If you believe you were the victim of theft from your vehicle, contact the police department at 221-5555.
