POTTERVILLE, Mich. — Since early April, there have been seven reported thefts from unlocked vehicles within Independence Commons in Potterville.
The most concerning item taken from one of the vehicles was a firearm said Potterville Police Chief Robert Barry.
"There's a criminal out there that now has a firearm that doesn't belong to them," Barry said. "They shouldn't be worried about them using that or anything at this point. We're going to be out there trying to get them."
The vehicle break-ins have been happening between 11 p.m. and 3 a.m., and the police department has added extra patrol.
Barry believes other thefts have occurred but said this type of crime often goes unreported.
"Anytime you have a little spree like this, there's going to be several people who open the doors and don't notice the couple pennies or quarters. Or whatever might have been there, even if they didn't have anything super valuable in the car that wasn't necessarily important enough to them to notice being missing," Barry said.
The police department does have a video of the suspects going from car to car to see if they're unlocked and then going through them, but have not caught them.
Lakota Shellenbarger lives at Independence Commons. She said she didn't always lock her car doors, but now she makes sure she does. And with all the car break-ins, Shellenbarger is concerned.
"What's to stop them from going into houses next. You know I grew up where, I mean, you're in the country. You don't really have to lock your doors all the time," she said. "But now it's kind of scary. What's to stop them from coming in my house and taking all of our stuff."
Barry said people should keep their eyes opened and their doors locked.
If anyone has any information, they should contact the Potterville Police Department at (517) 645-7802 or send an email to rbarry@pottervillemi.org.
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