Dozens of car windows smashed at apartments in Cobb County

COBB COUNTY, Ga - Dozens of cars were broken into at a couple of apartment complexes in Cobb County. It appears the same group of thieves broke into more than 20 cars in the WestHaven at Vinings apartment complex then went across the street and broke into more cars at the Paces Ridge apartments.

Markesha Ramirez woke up Monday morning to find the window of her SUV smashed out. She soon realized she wasn't alone.

"I looked at the parking lot and saw that car broken into, and that car broken into, and that car. It's ridiculous," said Ramirez.

In every case, the front passenger window was smashed. Residents said they had valuables in their cars that were left behind, leading them to believe the thieves were looking for guns.

"They left my console open, that's where people usually keep their guns, but I don't have any guns!" said Ramirez.

She said at least one of her neighbors did have a weapon stolen.

"A lot of people store handguns and leave them in their vehicles. That's the number one place criminals get stolen handguns from," said Cobb County Police Sgt. Wayne Delk.

Cobb County police said they've seen a steady rise in entering autos. Investigators said often a number of locations get hit at the same time.

"A lot of times we see when these crews come through they hit a number of places in one area," said Sgt. Delk.

That's what happened Monday morning when at least two apartment complexes were hit.  

Ramirez said police found her daughter's hoverboard that was stolen out of her SUV at the complex across the street. She said it's good to have that back, but she's still irritated and decided to write a note to anyone thinking about breaking into her vehicle. It reads: "This vehicle does not have any guns or valuables for you to steal. Please leave it alone".

Cobb County police said their advice is to "Lock, Take, Hide." Lock the doors, take the keys and valuables out of the vehicle or at least hide them in the trunk.

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