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20+ Vehicles Burglarized In Southwest Omaha

West Omaha has seen its share of vehicle break-ins in the past, but Wednesday morning, the broken glass was piling up.

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Reporter: LeAnne Morman

20+ Vehicles Burglarized In Southwest Omaha

West Omaha has seen its share of vehicle break-ins in the past, but Wednesday morning, the broken glass was piling up.

In southwest Omaha over night around 20 vehicles were burglarized. On Wednesday afternoon, the hum of a vacuum filled the Harrison Park neighborhood.

"When I got up in the morning, I was leaving for work at about 6:20 and saw the door open," After Brent Patten got a closer look, he realized what happened.

"Window was smashed out and when I looked inside, stuff was pulled out of the glove compartment, out of the middle compartment," said Patten.

As the window was replaced, glass still covers other areas of his street. There were more than seven vehicles broken into over night just in this neighborhood alone; around twenty in all.

"When we get a rash like this, there's a high probability that there's one group of people, whether they're in one car or several cars behind it." Deputy Gerald Mad sen says they think the thief or thieves went around, testing door handles.

If they were unlocked, good, if not, they'd smash windows.

Once they were in, they'd rummage the vehicle and see what they could find inside, but in most cases, all they took was some small electronics and cash.

"Just scattered all over like they were looking for something, but didn't look like they had taken anything out of mine," said Patten.

"Its still a hassle," he said.

The crime spree is still baffling to neighbors who say break ins are uncommon.

"These vandals just don't know the trouble that they put people through, and that's so inconsiderate," said neighbor, Karen Stonier.

The thefts all occurred in a 1 and 1/2 mile square radius. From 192ND street east to about where Millard West high school is located and from Harrison to Q streets.

The Douglas County Sheriff's Department is still looking for suspects and is asking anyone with information regarding the thefts to give them a call.

They also wanted to remind those who park outside to not keep valuables in vehicles, or keep them out of sight and lock the doors.