Three teens charged in vehicle burglaries

Texarkana, Texas, Police Department has arrested three juveniles on charges of vehicle burglary and unauthorized use of a vehicle.

At least one additional arrest is expected the near future, said Shawn Vaughn, TTPD spokesman. The teenage boys are believed to have been responsible for the recent upsurge in vehicle burglaries and thefts that had occurred primarily in the Spring Lake Park area.

The arrests of the teens, ages 15 and 16, have cleared at least 13 cases reported in the last two months. A total of 39 arrest warrants have been issued for the four juveniles. Eight vehicles that had been reported stolen have been recovered.

"The juveniles used those stolen vehicles to drive around at night looking for neighborhoods that had several cars on the street or in driveways. They would get out and start checking car door handles. They would steal anything of value from unlocked vehicles that they found. If the keys had been left inside the car, they stole it too and would drive it until it ran out of gas before abandoning it," TTPD Detective Tabitha Colley said.

Detective James Dean reminds citizens to lock their car doors, take the keys and any valuables with them.

"In this case, the juveniles told us that they would just move on to the next vehicle if the car door was locked when they tried it. The only reason that a particular car was broken into was that it was an easy target. It sounds almost too simple, but the single most effective thing that you can do to protect your property is to lock it up," Dean said.

The juveniles are being held in area juvenile detention centers.

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