KINGSPORT, Tenn. (WJHL) – According to police reports filed by the Kingsport Police Department (KPD), multiple vehicles were broken into Thursday night in the Lynn Garden community resulting in several hundreds of dollars in losses.
Officers were dispatched to a residence in the 800 block of Fain Avenue around 7 a.m. on Thursday after a man told police that he had seen three men breaking into his car on a doorbell camera feed early that morning. According to the report, the man reported a duffel bag, first aid kit, flashlight, sunglasses and a pair of prescription glasses totaling over $600.
In another report, a woman also living in the 800 block of Fain Avenue told officers that several of her belongings were missing. Those included several debit cards, membership cards, her COVID-19 vaccine card, health insurance cards and $100 in cash. The report references the previous incident, stating that another break-in occurred in the same apartment complex that night. The victim said she did not see who had broken into the vehicle.
Across Lynn Garden Drive on Bays View Road, two break-ins were also reported that night. A man living in the area told officers that he heard his dogs barking around 6 a.m., but didn’t think much of the behavior. When he woke up and prepared to go to work, however, he said his guitar had been stolen out of his Subaru as well as the change inside the vehicle. At the time of the break-in, the man said his car door had been left unlocked.
His brother’s vehicle has also been broken into, with locked doors being opened and change removed from inside the truck.
While the incidents are close in timeline and location, KPD public information officer Tom Patton told News Channel 11 that he hasn’t been made aware of any connection yet. What has been observed, however, is a surge in motor vehicle thefts and auto burglaries according to a previous release.
“Anytime we see a pattern of several similar crimes committed in the same general area during a close timeframe, we always look into the possibility that they are connected.,” Patton said. “Sometimes we are able to establish a connection, and sometimes we are not. Unfortunately, I am not privy to the specific investigative findings of those cases at this time.”
In that previous release from the KPD, officers say that the vast majority of auto thefts and burglaries happen to vehicles that are already vulnerable.
“Very few cars that are being stolen or burglarized are actually being forcibly broken into,” the release reads. “In nearly all of the cases, had the owner of the vehicle taken a few basic preventative measures, the crimes could have easily been deterred.”
Some of those prevention steps can be found below:
- Never leave your vehicle unlocked.
- Never leave keys inside of an unoccupied vehicle.
- Never leave your key out in public.
- Never leave a vehicle running unless you are in it.
- Never leave items of value in plain sight.
While those steps may seem straightforward, the KPD said it’s more often than not that the owner of a stolen or burglarized car broke one or more of these rules.