Lock your cars, Hilton Head: Sheriff’s Office reports ‘rash’ of car break-ins
During the past few months, Hilton Head Island has seen a “rash” of car break-ins as thieves continue targeting unlocked vehicles on the island.
From November 2020 to January 2021, the island saw 92 car break-ins, 66 of which involved unlocked cars, according to Sheriff’s Lt. Andres Florencio, who was presenting new crime statistics to a Hilton Head Town Council committee on Monday.
“It literally takes seconds to check a vehicle door,” Florencio said. “You can ruffle through someone’s vehicle and can take something small — cash, weapons — that’s easy to take, and run off or walk off and not be detected.”
The number of break-ins is a sharp uptick from around the same period a year ago. In the fourth quarter of 2019, there were only 61 larcenies total. Those include car break-ins, shoplifting and other small thefts.
Over the summer, the island saw many more: 12 break-ins in one night in Hilton Head Plantation in late July. Thieves broke into three cars in Palmetto Hall in July and seven in Allenwood in August. Police said all were connected.
“They like to hit the gated communities, and they move around sporadically,” said Florencio.
He describes the process as four or five “young people” in a car, driving into Hilton Head neighborhoods. They drive slowly to let passengers out, who are checking door handles as they walk down the street.
Florencio said they hop back in the car when neighbors are alerted to their presence.
The Sheriff’s Office has made some headway.
In December, the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office charged a 22-year-old Hardeeville man with 14 counts of breaking and entering cars. A 17-year-old who worked with him was also charged months before, said Maj. Bob Bromage.
A larger problem is when guns are stolen from cars.
In late November, four guns were reported stolen from unlocked vehicles near Coligny Beach and North Forest Beach.
“We recover firearms all the time that have been stolen in vehicles in Beaufort County,” said Bromage. “[They’re] oftentimes used in violent crimes and murders.”
