By Jerome Reuter
On August 25 of this year, there were a series of break ins involving up to 30 cars in the Londonderry area. These thefts occurred throughout town around the area of Colonial Drive, Columbia Drive, Lawson Farm Road, Alexander Road, Tanager Road, and Justin Circle.
Although these were like another crime that occurred back in January, this was on a much larger scale. Although only one car was stolen and subsequently recovered in Connecticut, there were extensive reports of stolen property such as bank cards, laptops and cellular phones.
All 30 vehicles were left unlocked by their owners.
Captain Kim Bernard, chief of operations for the Londonderry Police Department addressed the town council last week to give an update on the current investigation and offer advice to citizens to prevent future acts of theft. “It only takes two seconds to lock your car doors.” Bernard stated. “It takes a long time to come over being victimized this way” he continued, referring to the trauma that some people feel after having their personal property stolen.
“Right now, the case is still ongoing…we have some strong leads and we were able to recover a lot of property.” Bernard continued regarding the investigation. “The recovered vehicle has been processed for fingerprints and DNA…we have some suspects that we are trying to ID. They aren’t local. They’re out of Connecticut…we’re working with the departments down there.”
Most alarming was the size and scale of the car theft operation. This was a well-organized and planned operation. Bernard explained the method in which the crimes committed.
“There was more than one person doing this. They were a group of young adults and they were going from neighborhood to neighborhood. They would be dropped off in one section, take off on foot, meet up on the next street, drop the belongings, and then go to the next neighborhood.” Bernard also stressed the importance of the police in the community and that now more than ever, they are here to help. “From the Police department standpoint, it’s never a dumb idea to call and ask us. If it’s important to you and the community, it’s important to us. If you call us we’ll listen to you and give you any guidance we can. As far as the break in go…once we get this thing solved, we’ll put something out on the social media platforms and advise the community.”
The Londonderry Police Dept. recommends that citizens refrain from leaving any valuables in their car and always lock your car doors. If your car has been rifled through or damaged by an unknown party, file a police report right away. This investigation is still an ongoing process, but to keep up to date with this and other cases being pursued by the police, you can fins updates on their website at https://londonderrynhpd.org/.
The department also has a Facebook page that has updates about community matters as well as people that the Londonderry community should keep their eye on. Follow them at https://www.facebook.com/LondonderryNHPD/.