East Hampton Town Police Investigate Rash of Vehicle Break-Ins

East Hampton Town Police are investigating a series of vehicle break-ins from Montauk to Springs that occurred overnight from September 13-14. In addition to several wallets being stolen, a 2017 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo was reported stolen in Montauk, and throughout the town, a number of vehicles were rummaged through in the late night and early morning hours.

For the last two years, town and village police departments have been urging people to keep their cars locked while parked in driveways overnight after several SUVs and luxury cars were stolen — many with keys or fobs inside the unlocked vehicles — across the South Fork, primarily in Southampton Town.

Two weeks ago, over a dozen callers reported to East Hampton Town Police that their unlocked vehicles had been entered and, in some cases, wallets and debit cards removed, between September 13-14, including a 2017 Grand Cherokee, which was reported stolen from a Lincoln Road residence in Montauk, with the theft occurring between 1 and 3 a.m. According to Town Police, the vehicle was picked up by a scanner driving west on Montauk Highway in Wainscott at 5:38 a.m.

According to a report filed with Southampton Village Police on September 20, an employee of 7-Eleven on County Road 39 said that at 5:11 a.m. three Black men, wearing black clothing and black masks, attempted to buy a Visa prepaid credit card before leaving the store in the same Grand Cherokee reported stolen in East Hampton. The store employee told Village Police that after the men left the store, two off-duty East Hampton Town Police officers told him the vehicle had been stolen — along with a Mercedes-Benz sedan following the Grand Cherokee — in East Hampton. Police said they looked for the vehicles but were unable to find them.

Also between September 13-14, in Montauk, also on Lincoln Road, another resident reported that his 2020 Mazda had been rummaged through, with the center console and glove box left open and papers strewn around the car, although it appeared nothing was taken. The same night, a resident of Madison Drive in Montauk said his 2017 Acura and 2016 Nissan Frontier were riffled through, also with nothing taken.

A wallet was reported stolen from a 2020 Chevrolet parked in a Fairlawn Drive, Montauk, driveway, according to a report filed on September 14. The victim told police he had parked the car around 6:30 p.m. on September 13 and got an alert the next morning that someone was trying to use his credit card at the Speedway in Wainscott. He declined the purchase and realized his wallet had been taken from his car. Another Fairview Avenue resident reported his wallet was taken from his 2019 Ford, which he discovered when he went to work at 10 a.m. on September 14. A blue Toyota Highlander and 2013 Lexus were also rummaged through in a different driveway on Fairview Avenue, according to a report filed with Town Police. Nothing was missing from the vehicles, police said. Several trucks were also rummaged through that night on Greenwich Street in Montauk, with two wallets stolen from two trucks parked at a residence on that street, with another person missing a debit card from another parked truck.

Further west, in Amagansett, a Windward Road resident told police that between 5 p.m. on September 13 and the early morning hours of September 14, someone went through her Volkswagen and Honda Pilot, which were parked in her driveway. Her locked Mercedes was undisturbed, police said. On the same street, on September 15, a homeowner told Town Police someone had entered his 2003 BMW and went through his glove box, although nothing was taken. An Osprey Road, Amagansett, resident told Town Police someone went through her 2017 Honda CRV sometime between September 13-14 after finding her glove box and center console open with its contents thrown on the floor. On the same street, in another driveway, someone went through the center console of a 2020 Jeep Cherokee Empire. In both cases, nothing was reported stolen.

During the same hours, a 2006 Toyota Camry, parked on North Main Street in East Hampton, was also riffled through, although, once more, nothing appeared to have been taken.

In Springs, a Camberly Road resident told Town Police someone had been in her 2021 Honda CRV between 1 and 8 a.m. on September 14 and stole her brown wallet. She was notified about two charges to her credit card for $205.95 at a 7-Eleven, in an unknown location, police said. Another resident of Camberly reported her pink Kate Spade wallet had been taken from a 2014 Chevrolet, parked in her driveway overnight. Someone attempted to charge $205.95 with her card at a Speedway gas station. On September 18, another Camberly Road resident told police that between September 13-18, someone went through the center console and glove box of his 2018 GMC Sierra but nothing appeared to be missing.

Nearby, on Pembroke Drive, a resident reported someone went through her 2020 Lincoln SUV and 2021 Volkswagen SUV while they were parked in her driveway. Nothing appeared to have been taken. On Norfolk Drive in Springs, another resident reported an iPhone 8 was taken from her husband’s Nissan Juke, before someone smashed the front window if her 2009 Lexus and took a beige Calvin Klein wristlet, with her driver’s license and credit cards. A third vehicle on the property was also broken into, but nothing appeared to be missing, police said.

“Please lock your vehicles, remove keys or key fobs and take any valuable items from your vehicle, lock your home and be alert to suspicious activity during overnight hours,” said East Hampton Town Police officials in a social media post on September 14. “We are experiencing another string of vehicle thefts and larcenies from vehicles parked in driveways across the East End. Please take some basic steps to help us protect your property.”