BENTONVILLE -- Vehicles have been the target of recent break-ins and police are searching for more victims to build their case.
"We've gotten saturated this week," said Sgt. Kris Moffit with the Bentonville police criminal investigation division.
Between 30 and 50 people have reported break-ins or damage to their vehicles in the past week, Moffit said.
"We know that there's been more that were not reported," he said.
The recent rash of break-ins started on Aug. 1 and into the early hours of Aug. 2 in the Blueberry Heights area.
On Monday and into Tuesday morning there were break-ins at the College Place subdivision off Water Tower Road, Stone Meadow off Southwest Glen Road, Windsor Manor off Northwest Third Street, Northwest Sturbridge off Northwest Third Street, the Chardonnay neighborhood off Southwest Second Street and Southeast Meadowbrook off Water Tower Road.
The Chardonnay neighborhood was hit again overnight Thursday into the early hours of Friday morning.
The Battlefield Boulevard area was hit early Friday morning.
Cars were damaged in College Place and Chardonnay neighborhoods by spray paint or in attempts to break in, Moffit said.
Suspects have been identified in the Stone Meadows, Windsor Manor and Sturbridge incidents, he said. There have been a series of leads in the cases, including home surveillance video showing two young men. In the footage one was wearing a bandana over his face and the other is wearing a bicycle helmet.
Because of the number of break-ins there's more than one individual or group involved, Moffit said.
Break-ins can be more common during warmer months. Thieves move through neighborhoods pulling vehicles' door handles, police said.
"Most of these crimes are crimes of opportunity," Moffit said.
People might think a missing item is insignificant or it would be hard to solve the case, but the string of incidents mean they can be solved together.
Police have recovered more items than were reported stolen, as well, Moffit said.
Police ask anyone with information about the recent break-ins or people who may have been victims to call the Bentonville Police Department at 479-271-3170.
NW News on 08/08/2015