Residents of a Maryland apartment complex found their car windows smashed and their air bags missing – a too familiar sight for some.
It appears thieves mostly targeted Hondas parked at the complex in the 3600 block of Powder Mill Road in Beltsville.
“Went to sleep, then wake up this morning, going to the gym and then see that my window was broken into,” Anthony Novo said.
“I came outside, and I was like, I can’t believe this," Keya Thompkins said. “It’s the third time that it’s happened.”
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“They took the air bags, and when I spoke to the cops, it turned out that 25 cars were broken into,” Jermaine Swaby said.
Those impacted say the break-ins happened overnight.
“It’s amazing that it happened to a lot of cars and, you know, no one got caught,” Novo said.
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And the replacement isn’t cheap. Thompkins said she’s had to pay $500 to replace it. She says each time they’ve broken into her car, they’ve never stolen anything else.
“Just the air bag three times,” she said.
Novo said he’s decided to move.
“I’m going to send them a letter, you know, today, stating, you know, the reason that I’m moving,” he said.
“My option is either to leave or pay my deductible,” Thompkins said. “I’ll have to continue to pay the deductible, which is affecting my insurance, as well.”
The leasing office was closed Monday for the holiday.
Southern Management, which manages the apartment complex, shared the following statement with News4:
“At Southern Management, the safety of our residents and team members, and the security of their personal property, are our foremost priorities. We are aware of the incidents in question, fully understand the concerns expressed by members of Powder Mill Village and continue to take decisive actions to protect our communities from vandalism and theft. In the meantime, we will continue to cooperate fully with local law enforcement officials as they conduct their investigations and, as always, stand ready to do whatever we can for residents who have been directly affected by these crimes. We will not be satisfied until all our residents and team members feel truly safe on Southern Management properties.”
News4 reached out to Prince George’s County police but hasn’t received a reply yet.
