Rash of car break-ins at 2 hotels impacting visitors in town for Cincinnati Open
530. I’M MIKE DARDIS AND I’M ASHLEY KIRKLEN. THE WARREN COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE NOW INVESTIGATING CAR BREAK-INS AT TWO HOTEL POPULAR WITH TENNIS FANS AND WLWT NEWS FIVE’S KARIN JOHNSON IS LIVE IN DEERFIELD TOWNSHIP WITH THOSE DETAILS. HI, KAREN. HEY, ASHLEY. YOU KNOW WHEN GUESTS COME TO TOWN, YOU REALLY HOPE THEY HAVE A GREAT TIME AND ENJOY THEMSELVES. ESPECIALLY WHEN THEY’RE HERE FOR BIG EVENTS LIKE THE CINCINNATI OPEN. BUT THIS WEEK, SOME VISITORS FOUND THEMSELVES VICTIMIZED. A LOOK FROM ABOVE SHOWS HOW CONVENIENT THESE HOTELS ARE TO THE HIGHWAY. EASY ON, EASY OFF. BUT FOR CROOKS, IT’S AN EASY GETAWAY. SO THE BIGGEST THING IS THAT THEY’RE RIGHT THERE AT THE INTERSTATE, SO THEY’RE ON THE FIELDS OR AT ALL EASY ACCESS TO 71 WOULD BE MY GUESS ON WHY THEY ARE BEING TARGETED. THIEVES ARE ALSO AWARE OF HOW BUSY THIS AREA IS THIS WEEK WITH THE CINCINNATI OPEN UNDERWAY EARLY YESTERDAY MORNING, THEY WERE CLEARLY ROAMING THE AREAS AROUND THE HOTELS, BREAKING INTO 15 CARS PARKED AT EITHER THE HAMPTON INN OR DRURY IN WINDOWS BROKEN OUT OF CARS. JUST RUMMAGED THROUGH, LOOKING FOR ANYTHING OF VALUE. COULD BE CREDIT CARDS, CASH WEAPONS ARE THE MAIN THINGS THEY’RE LOOKING FOR. INVESTIGATORS SAY ONE PERSON HAD A FEW HUNDRED DOLLARS STOLEN FROM HIS VEHICLE, BUT MOST GUESTS DID NOT LEAVE VALUABLES IN THEIR CARS. TONIGHT, A WARNING WE’LL BE WATCHING. THE SHERIFF’S OFFICE ALREADY BEEFED UP PATROLS. NOW DEPUTIES SAY THEY WILL BE USING OTHER TECHNIQUES TO KEEP EARS AND EYES ON THE BAD GUYS IN THE MEANTIME, INVESTIGATORS ARE ENCOURAGING HOTEL GUESTS TO PARK IN WELL-LIT AREAS AND NEAR CAMERAS. IF THERE ARE ANY VISIBLE PARKING IN THE BUSIER PARTS OF THE PARKING LOT. SO THERE’S MORE PEOPLE AND MORE OPPORTUNITY FOR SOMEBODY TO BE DETERRED FROM BREAKING INTO THE CAR. AND I DID ASK THE SHERIFF’S OFFICE IF THEY HAD ANY VIDEOS OR SURVEILLANCE PICTURES OF THE THIEVES THAT WE COULD PUT OUT TO THE PUBLIC, BUT UNFORTUNATELY, THEY SAID THEY DIDN’T HAVE ANY FOOTAGE THAT WOULD BE USEFUL. REPORTING LIVE TONIGHT IN DEERFIELD TOWNSHIP. KAREN JOHNSON, WLWT NEWS FIVE. KAREN, WAS IT ONLY THOSE TWO HOTELS THAT WERE TARGETED? AT LEAST YESTERDAY MORNING? EARLY YESTERDAY MORNING? YEAH, JUST THOSE TWO THAT WE KNOW OF RIGHT NOW. I DID REACH OUT TO MASON POLICE, WHICH IS RIGHT NEXT TO DEERFIELD TOWNSHIP, TO SEE IF ANY OF THE HOTELS IN MASON’S JURISDICTION WERE TARGETED ALSO. AND THEY SAID WHILE THEY HAVE HAD ISSUES IN THE PAST, THEY HAVEN’T HA
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Rash of car break-ins at 2 hotels impacting visitors in town for Cincinnati Open
A rash of car break-ins is causing headaches for those attending the Cincinnati Open tennis tournament.According to the Warren County Sheriff's Office, more than a dozen cars were broken into at two different hotels off of Mason-Montgomery Road near Fields Ertel Road. The sheriff's office said 15 cars that were parked either at the Hampton Inn or Drury Inn had their windows smashed. The victims were in town for the tennis tournament.The break-ins happened overnight Monday into Tuesday."They don't necessarily care that there's anything in plain site. They're breaking windows and digging through glove boxes and things along those lines and just looking for anything of value inside the car," said Lt. Brian Payne of the Warren County Sheriff's Office.Payne said most guests did not have valuables inside their vehicles, but one victim did have several hundred dollars in the car and the cash was stolen.The sheriff's office said they don't have good security footage of the break ins but believe the suspects were targeting hotels with easy on and off road access.Investigators said they have beefed up patrols in and around the area.
DEERFIELD TOWNSHIP, Ohio —
A rash of car break-ins is causing headaches for those attending the Cincinnati Open tennis tournament.
According to the Warren County Sheriff's Office, more than a dozen cars were broken into at two different hotels off of Mason-Montgomery Road near Fields Ertel Road.
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The sheriff's office said 15 cars that were parked either at the Hampton Inn or Drury Inn had their windows smashed. The victims were in town for the tennis tournament.
The break-ins happened overnight Monday into Tuesday.
"They don't necessarily care that there's anything in plain site. They're breaking windows and digging through glove boxes and things along those lines and just looking for anything of value inside the car," said Lt. Brian Payne of the Warren County Sheriff's Office.
Payne said most guests did not have valuables inside their vehicles, but one victim did have several hundred dollars in the car and the cash was stolen.
The sheriff's office said they don't have good security footage of the break ins but believe the suspects were targeting hotels with easy on and off road access.
Investigators said they have beefed up patrols in and around the area.
