Rash of burglaries continues into holiday

The rash of burglaries that prompted the Wilton Police Department on Dec. 22 to urge residents to secure their vehicles and lock their houses continued into Christmas Eve, Dec. 24. Two homes were broken into by forcing doors open, apparently during the day on Dec. 24, on Riding Club Road and Cherry Lane, Capt. John Lynch said on Dec. 27. In one case, a loud alarm deterred the burglars before they could take anything. In the other case, police were still assessing what was missing. The police department issued its Dec. 22 warning following a run of car burglaries and vehicle thefts. There were two incidents of thefts of purses, apparently from unlocked cars, that very day. In those incidents two wallets, credit cards, a copy of a Social Security card, and $500 were reported stolen. Both incidents were reported in the parking lot of Stop & Shop on River Road, although in one case it is believed the wallet was discovered missing only at that time and was taken sometime earlier at home. Transactions using the stolen credit cards were made in a nearby town on Dec. 23. Two other cars were burglarized Dec. 20. Both were unlocked.Stolen carsA BMW was stolen the morning of Dec. 20, with the keys in the unlocked car. It was recovered in Bridgeport after the use of a GPS locator. There were also several car burglaries, all in the Glen Ridge area. There were two more vehicle thefts — a 2012 Honda Civic anda 2012 Toyota Prius — on Thursday, Dec. 22, from the Wilton Crest condominiums on River Road. Those have not been recovered, Lynch said. The vehicle and residential burglaries may be the work of the same individuals who are committing similar crimes in surrounding towns, Lynch said on Dec. 27. These three thefts bring the number of vehicles stolen in Wilton to five for the year. There were two vehicle thefts in Wilton in all of 2015. Police remind residents to secure their houses and set their alarms, lock their cars, conceal or remove valuables so they are not in plain view in the car, and be aware of their surroundings by getting as much information as possible about any suspicious activity. The National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) says that one out of every five stolen vehicles had keys in it, while nearly half of vehicles were unlocked when stolen. Anyone who sees a suspicious person or vehicle is asked to call 911 or the Wilton Police Department at 203-834-6260, immediately. Information to give police includes what the person looks like, gender, height and size, clothing, and the car the person might be driving. If it is a suspicious car, get the color, vehicle type, make and model, and direction of travel, if not the license plate itself.

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