BOARDMAN — Township residents will have to keep a closer eye on their vehicles. Another rash of car thefts has broken out in the township, similar to the one that swept through much of Mahoning County last year.

In 2023, two separate outbreaks in Boardman saw nearly 40 vehicles stolen or vandalized — about 28 incidents in September and at least another eight to 10 in November. Thieves were also active in Youngstown and Austintown.

The thefts have mostly stopped over the past year, but October saw a new outbreak of car thefts and break-ins, with about 18 incidents appearing in Boardman police reports, several just in the past week.

“Until now, a lot of them have been limited to apartment buildings, large parking lots where there’s a wide variety of selection for car thieves,” said Det. Sgt. Glenn Patton of the Boardman Police Department. “I’ve also noticed that they’re going through and looking for unlocked vehicles and seeing what they can take from the vehicles.”

Patton said thieves favor some areas, but all city residents should be careful.

“There are certain areas that have been targeted a bit more often because of the size of the apartment complexes and the number of vehicles in the general area, but we’ve seen it locally,” he said.

rEPORTS

On Oct. 1, in the 100 block of Argyle Avenue, a 2020 Polaris Slingshot was stolen from a man’s garage. The report states that the homeowner saw on his video camera a man wearing a hoodie and possibly a mask entering the garage just after 1:30 am.

On Oct. 14, a 2017 Hyundai Elantra was reported missing from the 4000 block of Glenwood Avenue. It was stolen sometime after the owner’s partner returned home from work the previous evening and found it secured in the car port at around 6.30pm. Broken glass was found where the rear passenger window would have been.

On Oct. 31, thieves struck that location again, stealing a 2016 Hyundai Accent parked in the apartment building’s carport between 10:30 p.m. Wednesday and 2:45 p.m. Halloween. The owner said two white gold rings worth about $500 were missing from the car.

October 22 was perhaps the busiest day for vehicle incidents in the locality.

A woman reported that the rear passenger window of her 2023 Kia Seltos was broken. The vehicle was sitting in a carport behind an apartment building on Glendale Avenue. Police found a shoe print on the back seat of the car.

In the 7100 block of Locust Avenue, a black Chevy Equinox was stolen from a carport overnight. During the investigation, police discovered that other vehicles had been vandalized. A witness told police he saw suspicious activity around the carport around 2:30 a.m

A 2020 Kia Sportage had a broken rear driver’s side window, with the steering column cover peeled off and a USB cable attached to the ignition.

They found another Kia Sportage in similar condition that matched a vehicle reported stolen by YPD. A Jeep Cherokee had been overturned, but the owner did not report anything missing.

A 2022 Hyundai Elantra was also entered and the steering column came off. The peeled off steering column cover was found on the back seat. The police managed to lift the palm and fingerprints from the two Kia Sportages.

Thieves hit that location again on Oct. 27 when they tried to steal a 2021 Kia Soul from its spot in the carport. The owner found the car around 8:30 a.m. with the rear passenger side window broken and the steering column cover detached. The police report shows the damage is estimated at $3,000.

Later on Oct. 27, a resident on the same block reported his 2021 Kia Seltos stolen and $2 stolen from him, although the vehicle was not damaged. That person told police her vehicle was allegedly unlocked.

On Oct. 23, a 2011 Buick Regal reported stolen by YPD was found abandoned behind an apartment building at 2025 Wolosyn Circle in Boardman.

On Oct. 26 around 10:30 p.m., police responded to a home in the 900 block of Larkridge Avenue. The man there reported his 2014 Hyundai Elantra was missing from the driveway. The man told police he had the keys. But on the road in front of the house, they found the lockpick on the driver’s door. They also found the vehicle’s registration, insurance information, owner’s manual and handicap plate in the road along Glenridge Drive near Mathews Road.

The report states that a neighbor’s security camera captured the car being driven, and another neighbor told police she saw two men in black hoodies push the car into the driveway before driving it away.

On Oct. 31, a man reported his 2013 Chevrolet Cruze missing from his apartment in the 4500 block of South Avenue. He told police he parked it near the building around 12:30 p.m. and it disappeared at 8 a.m. There was no broken window, but police observed condensation at that location, which they believed was coming from the vehicle, indicating it had been left idle for the time being. some time before the suspect chased him away.

On Wednesday, the trailer of a landscaping business was reported missing from a lot on Lake Park Road, where the owner stores it with the property owner’s permission. The owner said he hadn’t seen her in a month and assumed the landscaper had taken him back.

On Friday, police responded to Danbury Drive where a woman reported her unlocked 2017 Subaru Legacy parked in the driveway had been burglarized and the thieves took about $120 in cash and money from the center console.

During the investigation, the police also found a wallet belonging to the home of a nearby home. They tried to return it, but no one was home.

Saturday, a resident of an apartment complex in the 4000 block of South Avenue reported finding his 2015 Kia Sportage with the steering column cover completely peeled off and the column damaged. The owner refused to be processed for evidence and said he only wanted a police report for insurance to fix the car.

Before October, the last reported incident was on Aug. 31, when a 1988 Chevrolet G20 pickup truck was reported missing from the 4000 block of Windsor Road. The suspects entered by breaking the front passenger side window. The van contained a kayak, sleeping bags, tents and a charcoal grill. When Youngstown police found the van on Sept. 4, the kayak was gone.

THE INTERNET OPERATES SECURITY FEATURES

This crime spree is similar to the last one in that the thieves seem particularly interested in Kias and Hyundais. These cars are targeted because there are videos all over the internet showing how to exploit the security features of those vehicles. Hyundai is the parent company of Kia Motors.

Police said last year that the trend started as a TikTok challenge and turned into a nationwide car theft problem, with certain models being stolen at alarmingly high rates.

Most affected Kia vehicles are 2011-2021 models that require a key to start the vehicle, and most affected Hyundai vehicles are 2016-2021 models such as Accent, Elantra, Sonata, Veloster, Venue, Kona, Tucson, Santa Fe and Palisades.

Patton said there remains a problem.

“Kia has tried to address the issue and has been proactive in trying to get owners to do those updates to their cars so that (theft method) doesn’t work, but there are still enough vehicles out there to,” said he. .

Patton said the Kia and Hyundai problem is similar to what owners of GM vehicles dealt with in the 1990s and early 2000s, when thieves were able to exploit ignition switches using just a screwdriver.

Patton said to help prevent vehicle theft, a steering wheel lock can be a deterrent, as well as other anti-theft steering wheel locking systems that are available.

“More residents use the Club and the column locks and stuff, and your car thief will drive right past it when they see it,” Patton said.

THE INVOLVEMENT OF MINORS?

Last year, many of the incidents were believed to have involved minors.

For example, on August 15, 2023, police received reports of four people trying to break into vehicles in the Schwebel’s Baking Co. parking lot. from Midlothian Blvd. An officer saw three people in the lot and saw one start banging on the window of a vehicle before realizing the police were there. The three ran to Zedaker Street, where they met another person.

Other officers located three of them a short time later on Midlothian Boulevard. According to police, a 14-year-old and a 15-year-old were charged with possession of criminal instruments and parking violations, and a 16-year-old was charged with criminal trespass and a curfew violation.

Sources told The Vindicator that juveniles are suspects in at least the Locust Avenue incidents.

However, Patton said the department cannot say exactly who is responsible yet for this year’s incidents.

“It’s not just minors who are responsible,” he said. “It’s becoming a common practice. It may be a bit early to speculate on who is doing it. We’ll have to wait until the physical evidence comes back from the lab before we can say who we’re really dealing with.”

Mahoning County Juvenile Prosecutor Anissa Modarelli said many juveniles were charged with car theft crimes last year, but those crimes are unlikely to land children in prison.

Modarelli said car theft, at least in the Mahoning County juvenile court system, is charged with receiving stolen property, a fourth-degree felony.

A fourth-degree felony can land a juvenile a minimum of 6 months in an Ohio youth services facility, but Modarelli said for car theft, unless the child is a repeat offender, that’s unlikely . Adults charged with a fourth-degree felony face 6-18 months in prison and a $5,000 fine.

“Everything is done on a case-by-case basis, and because Ohio’s juvenile system is rehabilitative, the courts generally don’t send low-level offenders to DYS,” Modarelli said.

Juveniles are usually incarcerated only for violent crimes against other people. She said stealing from cars is only a misdemeanor and certainly not eligible for incarceration.

Patton said the department has increased patrols in some areas and encouraged residents to remain vigilant and call police if they see anything suspicious.

“They are usually our best line of defense and our best partners in these cases,” he said. “Having the good relationship we have with the community, it’s helpful when they turn to an activity that doesn’t seem right.”

Patton said the looming holiday season also brings an increase in thefts around commercial areas, and he encourages residents and visitors to the city to keep their doors locked and at least keep valuables out of sight or avoid them altogether. he leaves them in the car.

He said neighbors should look out for each other and look out for people who seem out of place in the neighborhood or anyone who appears to be looking for cars.