Sean C. Morgan
The Sweet Home Police Department arrested two men following a string of reports of that cars had been illegally entered last week.
Arrested at 1:56 p.m. Wed-nesday, July 27, were Rondel Allen Adams, 20, and Stephen James Kidd, 23, for 16 counts of unauthorized entry into a motor vehicle and one count of first-degree theft.
The reports originated in the area between 44th Avenue and 48th Avenue, on the south side of Highway 20.
“There’s more people or more groups out doing it because we were still out today taking additional calls,” said Sweet Home Police Sgt. Jason Van Eck on Thursday.
This follows two other strings of break-ins, he said. A couple of months ago, police noted an increase in the number of unauthorized entry reports, and about a month ago residents of the Mountain Shadows Trailer Park reported numerous break-ins, while police are continuing to receive reports in the Tamarack area.
“People just aren’t securing their vehicles,” Van Eck said. “In this day and age, people need to lock vehicles, even in a small town like Sweet Home.”
Adams and Kidd are accused of taking iPods, GPS units, knives, a stereo and a folding tree saw, which police found in their possession, Van Eck said.
Police believe they have recovered additional property that had not been reported stolen yet, Van Eck said, but they haven’t recovered everything that has been reported stolen.
“They were walking down the streets with backpacks,” Van Eck said. Since it was in the area of the break-ins, a police officer stopped the two men, identified them as suspects and arrested them.
At Mountain Shadows, the individual was confronted by a resident, Van Eck said. The resident woke up and was in the kitchen when he looked out and saw someone in his wife’s car. The resident grabbed a bat and went outside. The subject told the resident that he was just looking for cigarettes and left toward the exit of Mountain Shadows.
The resident was unaware that numerous vehicles had been entered that night, Van Eck said, so he didn’t attempt to detain the man.
No arrest has been made in that case, Van Eck said, although police have a rough description of the suspect.
Thefts in that case were minimal, Van Eck said. Several vehicles had prescription drugs and other valuables inside them, but those items were not taken.