Police report that overnight on Saturday, July 14, to Sunday, July 15, one auto theft of an unlocked vehicle with its keys left inside it plus a series of thefts of items from unlocked vehicles occurred in the southern section of town.

Police stress that residents must take steps to deter such incidents from occurring, noting that the large majority of such incidents involve unlocked vehicles. Some of those unlocked vehicles have keys and key fobs left within them, making it simple for criminals to steal the vehicles.

Police urge that unattended vehicles be locked and secured, with any valuables removed from those vehicles as a deterrent against auto theft and the theft of items from vehicles.

Newtown and surrounding towns have been experiencing a rash of auto thefts and thefts of valuables from vehicles. If criminals moving through neighborhoods on foot in the nighttime encounter locked vehicles, they typically continue moving on until they find unlocked vehicles, which they then steal if the keys are inside. Alternately, the criminals may steal the contents of the unlocked vehicles if there are no keys left inside.

Police spokesman Lieutenant Aaron Bahamonde said July 18 that a 2014 Jeep Cherokee SUV was stolen from a residential driveway on Bears Hill Road overnight on July 14-15. Later on July 15, police recovered that vehicle in New Haven, he said. New Haven police located three youths under age 18 who are considered suspects in the auto theft, the lieutenant added.

Newtown police went to New Haven to collect evidence from the stolen SUV in seeking to identify the thief or thieves and then obtain warrants for the arrest of those involved, Lt Bahamonde said.

On the morning on July 15, police received multiple reports of thefts of items from unlocked vehicles having occurred overnight on Orchard Hill Road and Pebble Road, he said.

Police ask anyone with information on those incidents to contact Officer William Crone at the police station at 203-426-5841.