ROANOKE, Va. – Roanoke County Police said there’s an uptick in car break-ins in the Roanoke Valley, and they’ve identified two different groups committing these crimes.
Ali Montie returned to her car from hiking at Read Mountain Preserve one day and found her window smashed, her purse, and all of her valuables, gone.
“It is a very violating to know that somebody had been in my car and took my purse,” Montie said. “It was scary.”
Mother Jessica Redden was walking to her car after softball practice at Mt. Pleasant Park when she found her own window smashed. Her daughter was with her.
“As a 7-year-old, they know that evil exists in the world, but it’s really hard for them to understand that until they see it,” Redden said.
Both women said since the crimes, they’ve been trying to piece their lives back together.
“It’s a lengthy process from replacing cards, shutting cards off, freezing your credit, replacing driver’s license, replacing social security,” Redden said.
Police said what these women have been through is part of a trend.
“We have other car break-ins but the ones that we can attribute to the pattern of activity to these particular groups is already increased at 14% this year,” Roanoke County Police Detective B. VanPatten said.
The break-ins are happening everywhere. Read Mountain Preserve, Goode Park, Mt. Pleasant Park and Chuck E. Cheese are just some of the targets. Gyms and walking trails too.
“You have the felony Lang Gang group and they’re name is not, they’re not actually a gang. It’s just several different groups of people,” VanPatten said. “They will smash the windows out in a very short time.”
VanPatten said the second group is more meticulous in their crimes.
“The other group is a group of foreign nationals, and they are very meticulous about what they do. They will break the door locks,” VanPatten said. “They will also take items out of the wallet very neatly and put things back so that nobody even know that the car has been entered.”
Police ask the public to take your valuables, including your purse, wallet and ID anytime you get out of your car.