Smash and grab thieves hit cars at Bluffton apartment complex. Here’s what they stole
Around 8:30 a.m. Sunday, deputies from the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office responded the Bluestone Apartments in Bluffton where at least seven car break-ins had taken place over night. According to the police report, each of the vehicles had been locked, and it appeared that loose cash was the main target.
Suspects have not been identified or arrested at this time, according to the sheriff’s office spokesperson, Master Sgt. Danny Allen. Cameras were not installed at the apartment complex at the time to capture the crime, per the report. The report does not specify what kind of vehicle the suspects were driving.
The complex, nestled between Bluffton Parkway and Anne Smith Drive, is two miles from the Tanger Outlets. According to the community’s website, there are 360 units that were built in 2004 and 2007. It has seventeen separate buildings with one, two and three bedroom apartments and hundreds of parking spaces in lots dotted throughout.
Residents at the complex reported what they observed with the deputies on scene. One witness, whose front driver-side window had been smashed, observed four males wearing gray clothing in the parking lot around 1:00 a.m.. He recognized the men, telling law enforcement that they had been seen looking through vehicles in the area before, but that they had not been reported to police.
Only cash and coins within reaching distance of the broken windows had been stolen from the vehicles, according to the report. One resident reported that around $700 had been stolen from the car’s center console, while several pieces of jewelry in the same console went untouched. Personal documents, an IPad and a watch were left behind within reach of another broken window said the report. Another resident reported that nothing but a container full of coins was stolen from her vehicle.
Allen said that even though car break-ins are one of the most common crimes throughout the county, it is rare to see break-ins where windows are broken. Usually, suspects look for items to steal in unlocked vehicles, he said. Car thieves move around the area, Allen said, so he recommends that residents throughout Beaufort County remove valuable items from their cars and report break-ins right away to law enforcement.
Sarah Sismilich, community manager at Bluestone, told The Island Packet Monday afternoon that she was not able to comment on the matter at this time.
