Multiple break-ins inside Hilton Head gated community; 3 cars stolen last week recovered
Three teenagers were arrested in Hardeeville after leading officers on a high speed chase in a Hilton Head car that was stolen during a string of burglaries in the Indigo Run area last week, according to a Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office news release.
Late Sunday afternoon, Hardeeville police officers spotted the stolen Mercedes and attempted to pull the vehicle over, the news release said. The driver then sped up and led both Hardeeville and Jasper County officers on a high-speed chase, which ended when the Mercedes’ driver lost control and crashed in a ditch near the intersection of Becks Ferry and Purrysburg roads.
Officers arrested the driver and two other male juveniles after they tried to run away. Hardeeville police officers detained the teenagers on charges related the stolen Mercedes. The three were taken to the Department of Juvenile Justice in Columbia, the news release said.
Beaufort County officers have interviewed the three teens about the 10 burglaries and three stolen vehicles on Indigo Run Drive in the Avalon Villas gated community on Jan. 23, but no charges have been filed in connection with those incidents, the release said.
Four male suspects were seen on security video last week breaking into a garage in the Avalon Villas neighborhood, according to a previous news release from the Sheriff’s Office. The investigation is ongoing and more charges could be filed, Capt. Bob Bromage, spokesperson for the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office, said Tuesday.
The two other stolen vehicles were also recovered by police within the last week, the release said.
However, on Sunday multiple Indigo Run residents reported vehicle break-ins from a neighborhood inside the gates about 2 miles from where last weeks burglaries occurred.
At least four residents reported items stolen from vehicles parked outside homes off Berwick Drive and Wedgefield Drive inside the gated community this weekend, according to police reports. At least two of the vehicles were unlocked at the time.
In one incident, a couple reported a burglary at their home on Berwick Drive, according to a police report. A resident told police he woke up around 5:30 a.m. and noticed his backdoor was open and several items, including two cell phones and a BB gun, were missing from the home.
Deputies took DNA samples from at least three of the crime scenes and continue to investigate the incidents, according to the police reports.
Police can not say whether last week’s burglaries are connected to the recent break-ins inside Indigo Run since the investigation is ongoing, Bromage said.
Anyone with information about the suspects involved in last Wednesday’s Avalon Villas burglaries/vehicle thefts can contact Staff Sgt. Calendine at 843-255-3427 or Crimestoppers of the Lowcountry at 843-554-1111, according to the release.
This story was originally published January 29, 2019 at 4:00 PM.