Henry County

Dozens of victims getting repairs after thieves break into 130+ vehicles

STOCKBRIDGE, Ga. — Dozens of people are taking their cars to the repair shop after thieves broke into more than 130 vehicles at two different apartment complexes.

Many cars in the parking lots at the Abbey at Eagles Landing apartment complex and the North Park at Eagles Landing apartments have plastic covering broken windows.

Police say it’s the work of perhaps a half dozen thieves who ransacked vehicles around 4 a.m. Sunday in the middle of a storm.

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Repair crews got to work early Monday replacing broken windows in dozens of cars, trucks, and SUVs.

Thieves swept through the parking lots smashing windows and swiping valuables from inside the vehicles.

But in some instances, the thieves broke in but left valuable items behind.

“They hit my work van, but they didn’t take anything out of it,” Zakia Dorsey told Channel 2′s Tom Regan.

“Residents of the apartment complex called and reported a dark-colored sedan was leaving with five to six males who were just breaking into vehicles,” Major Ron Momon with Stockbridge police said.

The thieves also stole handguns from two vehicles.

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One of the guns belonged to Marcus Brinson.

“This is how young people present to the street life,” Brinson said. “They get firearms not registered in their names and commit the crimes, things like that.”

Brinson suspects the thieves carefully chose which vehicles to break into, avoiding those suspected of having burglar alarms.

They also chose a stormy night, which would provide noise to cover the sounds of an alarm and breaking glass.

“You think you live in a safe place, gated. You know, how did they get in here? It was something that was organized, I believe,” Jasmine Blake said.

Police say the stormy weather damaged security cameras, so they don’t have any images of the suspects’ car or cars.

They urge people to remove valuables, especially firearms, from their vehicles.

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