Botetourt County Sheriff Ronnie Sprinkle has announced that his investigators have established that three male juveniles and one adult male were responsible for a string of thefts the night of December 29-30 from 11 unlocked vehicles scattered across four neighborhoods, taking items, especially electronics, whose total value was more than $10,000. The sheriff emphasized that there was not a single instance of forced vehicle entry.

The thefts occurred in Tinkerview Gardens, Sommersby, Santillane, and along Blue Ridge Springs Road, Sprinkle said. Some of the stolen items have been recovered, he said.

Nine charges of grand larceny and two charges of petit larceny involving two 17-year-old males and a 16-year-old male are being processed in juvenile court proceedings, and information concerning a cooperating 19-year-old male will be presented to the March grand jury of Circuit Court for Botetourt County, Sheriff Sprinkle said.

The sheriff said that the thieves found electronics items including a laptop computer, purses with significant amounts of cash, and even a paycheck, all in vehicles that were not locked. “On most of today’s vehicles, all it takes is the push of a button on the car door or on an electronic key to secure the vehicle. It’s a small effort that can prevent large losses,” he said.

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