Carnegie police chief calling for residents to be responsible after series of vehicle break-ins

A number of cars were broken into in Carnegie last night in what Police Chief Jeffrey L. Kennedy is calling a crime of opportunity.

“Any cars that are broken into are unlocked cars,” Kennedy said. “It’s amazing how many people leave tons of money in their cars. We’ve had guns stolen out of cars that are unlocked.”

Chief Kennedy said over the last two nights at least 12 cars that were left open along Roberta, Reamer and Huron drives were ransacked in the middle of the night.

“It’s 2024 guys,” he said. “We have to lock our cars and people still leave them open, which is an easy target for thieves.”

The suspects have been hiding in the dark before making their move, according to the chief.

“What we believe is this group is walking around at night trying door handles when they find a car,” Kennedy said. “This isn’t just Carnegie.”

Kennedy said thieves are getting the upper hand because of some misleading advice online apparently telling people to leave doors unlocked to avoid would-be thieves from smashing the car windows. He warned people to not do that.

“We have not had one report of a smashed-out window throughout this whole year,” the chief said.

Chief Kennedy believes the same group of people is breaking into cars from one neighborhood to the next.

He said the same suspects have been caught and arrested in other communities within the last month or two but don’t stay behind bars for long.

“They’re out of jail the next day,” said Kennedy. “I guess the courts view it as a minor offense and maybe it is a minor offense, but the problem is the next night they’re doing the same thing because they’re getting a slap on the wrist.”

The police chief said neighbors should call police if they see anything suspicious even if a little bit of change has been stolen from their car.

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