Sarasota police seek help in vehicle crimes spree

A rash of stolen and burglarized vehicles is under investigation by the Sarasota Police Department. The suspects are described as juveniles. 

There have been reports of 16 incidents, 11 burglaries and five stolen vehicles, targeting Kia, Hyundai and Chevrolet models. It is not yet clear if all the incidents are related.

One juvenile has been arrested in one of these incidents. Most of the vehicles suffered damage such as broken windows, steering columns and ignitions. In one incident, a resident in the area was confronted by possible suspects and suffered minor injuries. Because some of these incidents involved vehicles that were left unsecured SPD is encouraging residents to lock their vehicles while unattended.  

Anyone who may have information regarding these cases is asked to call the Sarasota Police Department’s Criminal Investigations Division at 941-263-6070 or leave an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers by calling 941-366-TIPS or online at SarasotaCrimeStoppers.com.