Bowling Green Police Division responded to a rash of thefts from vehicles this morning. The suspected thief dropped several stolen items when he was chased by a citizen.
Around 1:10 a.m., police received a call about a theft from a vehicle in the 200 block of Lehman Avenue. The caller had reportedly interrupted the theft and chased the offender. The offender was last seen eastbound from the scene and was described as a white male wearing a gray jacket.
The caller told police he was visiting friends and looked out the kitchen window because he thought he noticed his car door open. The caller went outside and saw a white middle-aged man (40-50) in the back seat of his car. The man then fled on foot when he saw the car owner, and a foot pursuit began southbound on South Summit Street. The caller was briefly able to contact the male, causing him to drop a backpack and other items he was carrying. He continued chasing the man, but the suspect got away behind a house.
The car owner told police the only item stolen from his car was a prescription medication.
Police collected all the found property that was dropped by the suspect. Two other victims were located later this morning and their property was returned. All the other items were placed in evidence at the police station.
Officers realized that other vehicles had been broken into, so searches began.
An officer who joined in around 1:40 a.m., found a pickup truck in an alley west of the 400 block of South Summit Street that was unlocked with glasses laying on the ground outside the truck. Police saw the glove box and center console were open and miscellaneous items were sprawled across the front seats.
A few minutes later, at 1:44 a.m., an officer driving westbound in the 200 block of East Napoleon Road was flagged down by a group of people. A woman reported that her vehicle was broken into, as well as her neighbor’s vehicle. The woman said a black auxiliary cord and $10 were stolen from her car.
At the same stop, a man told police that he observed a male wearing a black hooded sweatshirt and black pants going through a vehicle at a different address in the 200 block of Napoleon Road.
Meanwhile, around 1:50 a.m., an officer walking an alley west of the 400 block of South Summit Street saw an unlocked vehicle with the glove box and center compartment open. When police located the owner, he said that a black emergency power bank to jump start the vehicle was missing. The power bank was one of the items found when the suspect ran from the screen and dropped a backpack. It was returned to the owner.
When another officer responded at 1:59 a.m. to help with the search, he found another unlocked car with its glove box open in the 400 block of South Summit. Miscellaneous items were sprawled across the front seats. At 2:17 a.m., police found another vehicle with its glove box and center console open in the same block. Police were unable to contact either of those car owners in the night.
Also at 2:17 a.m., police got another call of a vehicle being rummaged through in the 200 block of Napoleon Road.
As police were back at the station around 4:23 a.m., taking inventory of the items inside the backpack dropped by the suspect, some paperwork was located with the name of an individual. Police located the owner of the paperwork in the 400 block of South Summit. An officer and the owner went to his vehicle, where several items were found to be missing – including a black Nike backpack.
Police showed the man the backpack recovered when the suspect ran, and he identified it as his. He also identified a coat, football, three golf discs, an empty ring box, and $10 as his belongings. All the items were returned.
At 7:46 a.m., a resident of the 600 block of South Summit, called to report that her and her husband’s vehicles had been broken into. She reported cash and air fresheners stolen from each vehicle.
