BLYTHEWOOD – On the same night that a Blythewood Exxon service station on Blythewood Road was robbed at gunpoint last week (Blythewood gas station robbed at gunpoint, Sept. 27 issue of The Voice), a resident on Blythewood road reported that her 2018 Thor Freedom RV was stolen from her yard, and that thieves had also ransacked and stolen items in her 2017 Ford Expedition that was parked at the home.
The resident told Richland County Sheriff’s deputies that the Ford Expedition was unlocked and that it contained the only key to the RV. She said that key was apparently used to drive the RV away.
According to the incident report, the resident stated that when she woke up that morning, she noticed that the RV was missing and that the glove box and center console of the Ford Expedition were open and appeared to have been “gone through.” Her wallet with miscellaneous debit and credit cards were also missing from the vehicle, the incident report stated.
Three nights earlier, on Sept. 18, five residents of Blythewood’s Dawson’s Pond neighborhood also reported thefts during the night from their unlocked vehicles.
At press time, the Richland County Sheriff’s Department had not provided more information on any of these incidents other than the number of the incidents and that the vehicles were unlocked.
“We have experienced some auto break-ins in the Dawson’s Pond community. This trend is going on nationwide and we truly need the communities to help us with the issue,” Richland County Sheriff’s Deputy Danny Brown told The Voice.
“People are leaving their cars unlocked with items in plain view inside. We want citizens to please lock your vehicles up, remove anything from the interior compartment. The vehicle should look empty if anyone walks up to it. Don’t tempt the bad guys,” Brown said. “They are going driveway to driveway late in the evening or early morning pulling on door handles to see if they are unlocked,” Brown said.
Brown urged neighbors, “If you see something please say something.”
