Vehicle break-ins a regular event in Jonesboro

JONESBORO, Ark. – There has never been a better time to have an enclosed garage in Jonesboro than the present.

Vehicle break-ins are happening regularly in the community, according to reports from Jonesboro Police Department. Officers routinely investigate several every night.

The most common trait among the break-ins is that they’re occurring at apartment complexes or places where there are several vehicles.

Late Monday night, officers responded to 828 South Caraway Road to one such call by a member of their own police force. Corporal Earnest Ward advised dispatch his patrol car was broken into with the department camera stolen.

The off-duty officer reported entering his residence around 11 p.m. and a short time later, heard a car alarm. He came outside to find the vehicle doors open and the patrol car ransacked, “with all the items from the glovebox removed and items under the seat” pulled out, the report stated.

It appeared the criminal used a “slim-jim” style tool to unlock the vehicle, which had been locked according to the officer. It also seemed the patrol car was not the only target at the complex.

A neighbor reported seeing a suspicious black pick-up in the area. Other vehicles at the same apartment complex were also busted into.

While thieves may steal belongings out of the target vehicle, they also sometimes take the entire car.

That happened to one man late Monday or early Tuesday. The victim reported to Jonesboro police his 1988 Ford Thunderbird stolen between 9 p.m. Monday and 4:45 a.m. Tuesday morning. Another car had also been broken into at the scene. The Thunderbird has been entered into national databases as stolen.

While crooks may think of it as a quick buck, victims are often traumatized and worried for weeks or longer about being a target for law breakers. One anonymous victim told NEA Report she felt singled out and was paranoid to go to her vehicle at night following becoming a victim.

Criminals targeting vehicles face felony charges, automatically. In addition, theft charges can often be felonious. If you can help authorities find the perpetrators who are targeting innocent victims in Jonesboro and Craighead County, you can be the hero of this story. Call Crimestoppers at 935-STOP.