Sheriff’s Office handles rash of holiday season break-ins

At the height of the holiday season, the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office has responded to several vehicle break-ins on both Hilton Head Island and in Bluffton.

The most recent break-ins were reported on one road in Bluffton, according to Sheriff’s Office reports. Four break-ins were reported at residences on Muirfield Drive in Eagle’s Pointe on Monday.

The thefts allegedly happened between 3 p.m. Sunday and 8:50 a.m. Monday, and stolen items included a rifle valued at $700, a GPS device valued at $100 and, in two of the reports, nothing at all. Some vehicles appeared to have been entered and items moved around.

Three out of the four break-in victims said they had left their doors unlocked, the reports said. The fourth victim said he was unsure whether he had locked his vehicle, but no evidence of forced entry was noted in the report.

The break-ins are the latest in reports filed in Bluffton and on Hilton Head within the last week.

Three additional vehicle break-ins were reported Dec. 14 in the parking lot of Reebok CrossFit on New Orleans Road between 5 and 6:30 p.m., Capt. Bromage said on Wednesday.

The thefts were joined by four cases of vehicles with smashed in windows at Powerhouse Gym on Fording Island Road in Bluffton the next day, Bromage said. Electronics, purses and money were stolen in the thefts that happened between 5:30 and 7 a.m. and from 6 to 8:30 p.m.

“Always lock your vehicle and activate your security system,” said to a Sheriff’s Office news release. “A vast majority of break-ins reported to law enforcement are not forcibly entered; they are left unlocked. Often times, if the vehicle is locked, the opportunistic thief will simply leave it alone and move on to the next one.”

This story was originally published December 21, 2016 at 1:53 PM with the headline "Sheriff’s Office handles rash of holiday season break-ins."