RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — Raleigh residents are frustrated after more people at a midtown apartment complex woke up Friday morning to find their cars broken into and with shattered windows.
“Glass was everywhere,” said Devin Hamilton, who found his truck’s passenger-side window busted out. Hamilton was just one of several residents living at the Jones Grant Apartments off of Wake Forest Road left to clean up a big mess.
Ryan Curry, who helped sweep up glass outside the apartment, said his jeep was also broken into.
“There were like 8-10 vehicles with the windows smashed out of the cars… Everything in my car was opened up, the glove box and everything like that,” he said.
Both Curry and Hamilton said they had items in their vehicles that hadn’t been stolen.
Residents at the apartment complex also pointed across the street where they say Raleigh police had visited that same morning. Staff at the Extended Stay America said they had at least one vehicle there that had also been broken into.
“From our understanding, we’re seeing it all across the Triangle area,” said Capt. Chris Adams with the Garner Police Department. Adams said his and other police departments have seen a rise in forced vehicle break-ins and have continued to communicate, look at trends, and see if they may somehow be connected.
Adams said it’s not uncommon to see these crimes rise as the weather gets warmer.
He added, “Traditionally, you see a lot of suspects trying to use door handles, trying to see if they can get into a car undetected, but you’re seeing more brazen activity lately with suspects breaking windows– some in broad daylight.”
CBS17 News reached out to several police departments in the Triangle area who are looking into the issue including Durham, Chapel Hill, Cary, and Fuquay-Varina.
“You’ll see this a lot of times, you’ll have these individuals move around until they get caught,” Adams said.
Hamilton and others who are now focused on making repairs on their vehicles said they have reached out to staff at the apartment complex about having more security measures to prevent the issue from happening again.
“My concern is that this is the second time that it’s happened to me at this apartment complex. I think I’m just going to start leaving my truck door unlocked and not leave anything in there because dealing with a broken window and glass and having dogs and kids that walk around out here, it’s a safety concern for me—it’s really just disappointing,” Hamilton said.
Garner police recommend always keeping valuables in vehicles out of sight, continuing to lock doors, and reporting suspicious activity.