Rash of car thefts continue along I-75 corridor; Police investigating group from Cincinnati-area

CENTERVILLE — A group from Cincinnati is being investigated as the possible culprits of an uptick in vehicle thefts and thefts from vehicles in parts of southern Montgomery County, northern Warren County, and along the I-75 corridor.

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In the Miami Valley, police in Centerville, Springboro, Clearcreek Twp., and deputies in Washington Twp. continue to investigate these “crimes of opportunity” and encourage residents to take precautions to prevent becoming a victim.

Centerville Police Public Information Officer John Davis said the crimes have increased over the last month, but the thefts of cars and items from them are not unique to just places in the Miami Valley.

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“Seems to be following the I-75 corridor. There are other communities along that same area that are having similar issues,” Davis told News Center 7′s Candace Price.

“Its not exclusive to Centerville, its not exclusive to Springboro or West Chester its all along I-75. They are all having similar issues.”

In most cases, the thieves are walking up to cars and finding them unlocked or have something of value that can be spotted easily. Davis said many of these crimes would have been prevented if people would have locked their cars or not kept items of value in them.

“We’ve seen it over and over again from ring doorbell cameras and things of that nature, where you can see them come up into the driveway pull on the door handle and if they can’t get it open they’ll look inside. If they don’t see anything they move on,” Davis said.

Davis said the suspects following this pattern are working across the area targeting multiple communities over several days.

“The suspects and locations are always changing but the victim behavior isn’t. (The thieves are) finding crimes of opportunity, so if we can eliminate those its going to help us,” Davis said.

Centerville investigators are working with several other departments in an “ongoing and active investigation,” Davis said.

The rash of crimes has sparked several social media posts that have circulated, including a claim that the thieves are getting more daring and were starting to enter homes. Davis said, speaking on behalf of Centerville, Springboro, Clearcreek Twp., and Washington Twp. investigators that the rumor is not true and none of those departments have had instances where the thieves have entered homes.”

“I don’t know where that information came from. But I can tell you in our area we have not had that,” Davis said.

In a social media post Friday, Clearcreek Twp. police said their investigation has led them to believe a “group from the Cincinnati area” is believed to be responsible for many of the thefts.

“Investigators from the Clearcreek Township Police Department are actively investigating these incidents in partnership with other Ohio agencies. This cooperative effort has led to several apprehensions and charges filed already. Most of these crimes are related to a group from the Cincinnati area that is traveling to the suburbs to commit crimes of opportunity,” the department spokesperson said in the post.

Davis said the message is simple to protect yourself from a crime: lock your car and don’t keep valuables inside.

“Lock it and don’t leave it,” Davis said.

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