Sheriff's Deputies, City Police Investigating Burglaries from Vehicles at Heartville

Effingham County sheriff's deputies are investigating burglaries from vehicles in Richmond Hills Subdivision, southeast of Heartville.

A Glock 9mm handgun and an undetermined amount of change were taken from an unlocked pickup truck. A Microsoft Surface Pro 3 tablet and a Microsoft keyboard were stolen from an unlocked passenger car.

Effingham County Sheriff Dave Mahon said in recent weeks, Effingham City has been plagued by several burglaries from vehicles and, now, those incidents are occurring out in the County. Sheriff Mahon reminded residents that many crimes happen as a result of "targets of opportunity". He requests you keep all vehicles locked and valuables out of plain sight. The Sheriff also advises you should never leave a firearm in an unattended motor vehicle parked outside overnight.

Sheriff Mahon advised the stolen firearm's serial number has been entered into the Law Enforcement Agency Data System in the event it is recovered. He reminded all responsible gun owners to have their firearms documented with a description and the serial number recorded and kept in a safe place. The Sheriff stated it's every resident's duty to make the community a safe place to live.

The Effingham County Sheriff's Office asks that if anyone has any information regarding the crimes to phone the office at 217-342-2101, or Effingham Area Crimestoppers at 217-347-6583.

Effingham City Police continue to investigate burglaries from vehicles previously reported, as well as a series of incidents from the past weekend and earlier this week.

Burglaries to vehicles occurred while vehicles were parked at 1102 Avenue of Mid America and at 1301 Avenue of Mid America between 2pm and 2:45pm last Friday, from a vehicle parked in the 100 block of West Pine between midnight Sunday and 12:30pm Tuesday, and from a vehicle parked in the 800 block of Edgar Avenue between 4pm Monday and 6:30am Tuesday. Items taken included a laptop computer, a bag containing miscellaneous hunting equipment, a $5,500 camera, bags of clothing, sets of keys, a carton of cigarettes, vice grips and cash.

City police are also investigating the theft of a vehicle. The truck in question was parked in a driveway in the 500 block of Bent Tree Drive on Monday between 6:30am and 7:30pm. The truck is a 2001 silver Dodge Ram 1500 extended cab short bed with rust on the right back fender.

Also being investigated are a burglary to a storage unit at 307 Miracle Avenue between 8am Saturday and 5:25pm Sunday where a dryer was stolen, and criminal damage to a vehicle parked in the 500 block of North Henrietta between 8pm Monday and 8am Tuesday.