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CRIME Rash of auto thefts hit Ashland neighborhoods All victims, including a person who had two guns stolen, left vehicles unlocked Comment By Julie Akins For the Tidings DailyTidings.com By Julie Akins For the Tidings Posted May. 17, 2016 at 4:21 PM Updated May 17, 2016 at 5:27 PM By Julie Akins For the Tidings Posted May. 17, 2016 at 4:21 PM Updated May 17, 2016 at 5:27 PM » RELATED CONTENT • Police reports, May 12-13 • Police log, April 1-4 • Ashland burglary just the latest tied to suspect • Suspected car thief found asleep in stolen vehicle in Ashland... » Social News Eleven auto break-ins in six days in Ashland. A rash of rip-offs in neighborhoods all over the city, with no particular place or methodology in mind — except one thing: the cars were all unlocked, according to Ashland Police Chief Tighe O’Meara. “We’re taking notice," he told the Tidings Tuesday. "There have been a handful of spurts.” Auto break-ins go in waves, according to the chief, who says these things happen with some frequency much of the time and occasionally increase. “It’s something we see," he said. "But sometimes, like now, it happens more often. It’s happened in several parts of town.” Chief O’Meara puts the total value at more than a thousand dollars in items taken. They’ve had no smashed windows or violent break-ins. “It’s too noisy and too noticeable,” for the perpetrators to get away with, he said. “I felt violated” says Clay Baker, who had his car and his girlfriend’s rifled through recently. “My girlfriend and I left our cars unlocked.” Baker says nothing was taken, but the cars were left a mess. “I noticed my trunk was open. My girlfriend thought I went through (her car) and made a mess.” That’s when they compared notes and realized what happened. “We didn’t have anything valuable in them and they didn’t take anything," Baker said. "But I’ve heard of people taking insurance information and getting more from that.” Baker said they are locking their cars now. Auto break-ins are common enough in Ashland that the Tidings was able to randomly approach people at a local grocery store and, within minutes, find two people who had it happen to them. Brett Belan is an Ashland resident who had the same experience as Baker. “I had my car rifled through a year ago,” Balen says. He believes the people who went through his car were looking to feed a habit. “People doing this are strung out on something.” Still, he says, he doesn’t lock his car door. “I subscribe to the theory of not locking, but taking everything valuable out,” Belan says — perhaps because the one time he locked his car door, thieves broke the lock trying to get it. Chief O’Meara says Belan’s experience is not typical. “Car break-ins happen with unlocked cars," he said. "It doesn’t happen most of the time with cars that are locked.” To back up his point, the chief says every theft in this most recent cluster are as a result of the cars being unlocked. In a couple of instances, the garage door opener was also in the car and garages were ransacked. O’Meara says most of the items taken were cash, or valuables like computers or cell phones left in cars. One vehicle had two guns in it that were stolen and remain in circulation somewhere. “The first, best defense is to lock your stuff up,” says O’Meara. An extreme example, according to the chief, are cars stolen because they’ve been left unlocked with the keys left in the center consul. Two cars were recently stolen in Ashland in the same time frame with this exact scenario. One was recovered a few hours later in Klamath Falls. “90-plus percent of the time, things are stolen when they are left unlocked,” says O’Meara. He also says it’s unclear if this recent outbreak of thefts are related to a permanent resident or someone who happened to be traveling through and noticed the cars unlocked. Police are pursuing all possibilities at this point. Ashland resident Adam Reed says he’s been lucky and hasn’t suffered from a break-in, but acknowledges that it can happen. “If it’s easy, they take it,” he said. Reed says he’s hoping it’s a brief outbreak of crimes of opportunity by people passing through. “I hope it’s like it usually is, a group of people who are coming through,” Reed said. It’s unclear, according to O’Meara, if there is one person, a group of people or if the break-ins are more random crimes of opportunity. Email Ashland freelance writer Julie Akins at [email protected] and follow her on Twitter at twitter.com/ @julieakins. By Julie Akins For the Tidings DailyTidings.com By Julie Akins For the Tidings Posted May. 17, 2016 at 4:21 PM Updated May 17, 2016 at 5:27 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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