At least seven car break-ins on Lady’s Island were reported over the weekend, police say
A military combat knife, a Social Security card and at least three wallets were stolen from vehicles at five residences on Lady’s Island over the weekend, police say.
The string of thefts began Friday on Fraser Street inside Newpoint, a residential community just outside of Beaufort’s city limits, according to a report from the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies responded to the home at 5:38 a.m. after a man reported that his center console and glove compartment had been rifled through. The man told police that his wallet, along with $80 in cash, credit cards and his driver’s license, was missing. The man was not “100% positive” he had locked his vehicle, police said in the report.
Before 7 a.m. Friday, another break-in was reported on Newpoint Road, according to a report. A woman told police she was heading to her car around 5:30 a.m. when she noticed her car door had been left open, police said in the report. The woman reported her wallet containing her driver’s license and credit cards stolen, according to police. Deputies found “no signs of forced entry” on the car, the report said. The woman said she had locked her car the night before.
Deputies responded to Martha Ann Way just before 8 a.m. Sunday after receiving a call about a car break-in. When they arrived, a man told them that he went outside that morning to find that the driver-side doors of the three cars in his driveway were left “wide open,” police said in a report. Missing from the cars was a Ka-Bar knife, a combat knife first used by Marines in World War II, several $2 bills and a lunchbox with a key to the man’s home and car. Also stolen from the vehicles was a wallet containing a retired military ID card, cash, Social Security card, birth certificate, credit cards and other important documents. The cars were left unlocked overnight, according to the report. The man told police that his dogs had been barking around 3 a.m. and he believes that is when the break-ins happened.
At 8:16 a.m. Sunday, deputies responded to another car break-in on Christine Drive where a woman reported that someone had stolen her purse from her car. The woman told police that she thought she had locked her car overnight. Inside the purse was $20 cash, a Navy Federal Credit Union debit card and the woman’s driver’s license, police said in the report.
At a home on Lisbon Way, a woman said she was getting into her car around 3:30 p.m. Sunday when she noticed someone had gone through it, a report said. The woman told police that nothing was stolen from her vehicle, but she did catch someone on her security cameras going through her car just before 3 a.m., the report said. The woman told police that the suspect was wearing a raincoat with the hood pulled up.
Car break-ins are not specific to one area of Beaufort County, according to Maj. Bob Bromage from the Sheriff’s Office. The best way to reduce the opportunity for a break-in is by locking your car, Bromage said.
“Do not leave valuables, especially firearms, in your vehicles,” Bromage said. “They’re [firearms ] stolen to be used in violent crimes.”
The investigation into the break-ins is ongoing, according to Bromage. No arrests had been made in the thefts as of Tuesday, Bromage said.
