Eight burglaries were reported in one West Hartford neighborhood Wednesday night all while the residents were at home.
Police are still on the hunt for the suspect.
Four streets were targeted: North Quaker Lane, Farnham Road, Vanderbilt Road and Robin Road.
Police aren’t sure whether they are related to a rash of recent burglaries reported in Bristol with a similar style.
But all eight of these burglaries had one thing in common in that the suspect gravitated toward easy targets.
Larry Cohen has lived in West Hartford for about 10 years, and like anyone, worries when he hears about burglary sprees.
“We don’t like to hear stories that people are crawling in windows at night because there are a lot of elderly people that live alone here and it’s scary. It’s scary for them,” says Cohen.
But that was the case Wednesday night beginning at 11:47 p.m. There were a total of eight burglaries with three entries made during the overnight hours, according to police.
Laptops and cash were among the items stolen, all from homes with open or unlocked windows.
The suspect went through screen windows in many cases.
“We did have a possible suspect that the officers did chase. He fled on a bicycle. We lost him in the area of Vanderbilt Road,” says Lt. Ted Stoneburner of West Hartford Police.
Thursday on Vanderbilt Road one man called police around 6 p.m. reporting that his bike was stolen from his garage.
It turns out it wasn’t the same one the suspect was riding, which is believed to have also been stolen.
Police now have that bike in their possession as evidence.
“I would say someone’s very desperate to get some cash, some money. I think he’s going to go until he gets caught. Maybe just a little different area, maybe back to the same area,” says Lt. Stoneburner.
Detectives are processing the evidence and warning residents to be on the lookout and to keep ground floor windows closed and locked.
They also advise making sure motion lights and alarms are working.
Several residents Fox CT spoke with, including Larry, say the area is seeing more and more crime.
“It’s unheard of in this town because the police always had a handle on law enforcement here, but things are really … It’s getting out of hand,” says Cohen.
Unfortunately police didn’t get a good look at the suspect. He’s only described as a male wearing dark clothing.
But fortunately, no one had an encounter with him while he was inside the homes.
Police say they are putting extra marked and unmarked patrol cars in the area.