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Virginia Beach neighborhood reports dozens of vehicle break-ins overnight

Posted at 7:58 PM, Jul 11, 2018
and last updated 2018-07-11 22:22:23-04

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - A woman says she woke up Wednesday morning and her car wasn't in the driveway. Her first thought?

"Dude, where's my car?"

Hayden Salcido's car was stolen and she says she wasn't alone. She walked out to onto her street in the Shelton Circle military housing complex off Shore Drive to a chaotic scene.

"Everybody's car was opened up," she said. "There were police up and down the street taking reports from people. In the street, there was empty wallets and stuff."

According to Salcido, she was told thieves hit more than 30 homes, stealing from inside cars and, in her case, stealing vehicles altogether.

"[Police said] we were number 17 on the list," said William Wells, who lives down the street and found his vehicle rummaged through. "This is probably three or four times break-ins have happened within the last year and a half probably."

In October, Virginia Beach Police told News 3 that 'larcenies from vehicles' was the top crime in the city, but new numbers announced this week show the numbers could be on the decline.

According to crime stats from the police department, there were 1180 reported larcenies from vehicles in the first six months of 2017; down from 1412 during the same period last year. Among the items stolen from vehicles this year include 81 guns.

Motor vehicle thefts, on the other hand, increased by about 29 percent from 169 to 218 between January 1 and June 30 of 2018.

Salcido says her car that was stolen was locked, so she's unsure how thieves were able to get inside.

Police say most of the thefts from vehicles occur when doors are left unlocked, so they recommend always locking your doors.

News 3 reached out to Virginia Beach Police for more information on thefts from the Shelton Circle neighborhood. Police say they're working on getting us that information.

Click here to read more on the report.