This article was originally published in The Examiner on Jan. 11, 2018.
By Eleanor Skelton
Staff Writer
Lumberton Police warned residents in a Facebook post that three vehicles and “numerous” auto burglaries took place over the weekend during the night of Jan. 8 to Jan. 9.
The three vehicles reported stolen were within a three block area on north US 69 — one from the Gracelake Estates neighborhood, one from Hampshire Lane, and one from Sarah Lane, Lumberton Police Chief Danny Sullins said.
Several vehicles were also burglarized in the area on the same streets, Sullins said, adding that guns and other valuables were taken and keys may have been left in some of the cars.
Port Arthur Police officers found one of the vehicles, a 2013 GMC Yukon, inside Port Arthur city limits about 8 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 9, Sullins said, but the other two cars have not yet been found.
“We want to remind folks to lock your vehicle up and take your valuables out,” Sullins said, adding that Hardin, Jefferson, and Orange Counties are all currently experiencing a spike in car burglaries and car thefts, also known as “carhopping,” as previously covered by The Examiner.
Sullins encouraged all residents to report thefts.
“If we had one [case] reported, we probably have four more that we don’t have reports on,” he said.
Sullins said many of these types of crimes are committed by groups of juveniles going through neighborhoods and pulling on car doors and looking for cash or valuables.
But these crimes can carry serious penalties, Sullins said, explaining that car burglary is a class A misdemeanor and car theft is a state jail felony. Stealing a firearm is also a felony, he added.
Eleanor Skelton 