Police: Car burglaries in Madison, Skowhegan might be linked

First it was in Madison, and a week later it is in Skowhegan: eight or nine unlocked motor vehicles burglarized in a particular part of town overnight during the weekend.

Skowhegan Police Chief Ted Blais said the car burglaries in both communities could be connected.

“Madison had them last week; now we’ve got some this week — and all on the weekend, too, just like this one,” Blais said Monday.

The first report of a motor vehicle break came just after 8 a.m. Saturday from Dr. Mann Road in Skowhegan. Over the next few hours more car burglaries were reported on North Avenue, Adams Street, Maple Street, Timberview Drive and East Maple Street.

Taken in the burglaries were loose change and small purses, along with GPS devices and a GoPro video camera valued at about $450, Blais said. All of the cars had been left unlocked.

“They’re all pretty much in the same area off North Avenue,” Blais said. “They’re just pulling door handles”

Last weekend, eight motor vehicles were broken into and two vehicles were stolen in Madison. All of those cars had been left unlocked as well, Madison police said.

The two stolen vehicles were recovered later — one in a snowbank on Carter Road and another at the intersection of Jones Street and Hidden Acres Drive. The motor vehicle burglaries occurred on Carter Road, Nichols Street, Jones Street and Shusta Road,

Among the items taken from the cars in Madison were loose change, some battery-operated tools, a flashlight and CDs, police said.

Blais said he was going to check with local secondhand shops and will confer with Madison police later.

Meantime, the police chief has one basic piece of advice: Lock your car doors.

“I don’t know how many times I’ve told people: You gotta lock your car. You gotta lock your car,” he said. “People want to believe that their car is safe in their driveway. And with today’s technology, all you have to do is hit that little button on your key chain as you’re walking away, and it’s locked.”

Doug Harlow — 612-2367 [email protected] Twitter: @Doug_Harlow