Bah, humbug.
Since Nov. 7, 13 new burglaries of houses have been reported in Greenwood.
In one case, a woman on West Taft Street left her house at 6:15 a.m. for outpatient surgery and returned in the late afternoon to find her gold-and-ruby wedding ring stolen, along with two televisions.
Items most commonly stolen, according to recent police reports, are televisions and video game components.
Addresses are redacted in a number of Greenwood Police Department incident reports, but break-ins have occurred twice within days on Hope Street in South Greenwood and twice on West Jefferson Avenue in North Greenwood.
Other known locations include East McLaurin Street and Avenue I, both in South Greenwood, and at the Terrace View Apartments south of U.S. 82.
Thieves have kicked in doors, broken out windows and removed air conditioning units to gain entry, leaving behind costly repairs for residents. Most incidents have occurred when a resident was gone for the bulk of the day.
In another, a man said he left for just 15 minutes to get a cup of coffee and returned to find his closets ransacked and a large flat-screen TV missing.
Home invaders have taken a total of seven televisions, five PlayStation or XBox video gaming systems, a number of games, two laptop computers, two bicycles, a cellphone and two DVD players.
One break-in resulted in the theft of several books of blank checks. And one, on West Jefferson Avenue, resulted in five pairs of missing basketball shoes valued at $1,000.
Thieves have left few clues behind. In one case, police were able to capture a footprint, and in another, a wallet was left behind in the middle of the room.
In two cases, those whose homes had been breached found shoes that did not belong to them, presumably left behind by thieves. In both cases, the shoes were Nikes and were bagged by police to be sent to the Mississippi Crime Lab in Jackson.
No arrests have been reported in the burglaries in recent days. Greenwood Police Chief Ray Moore was unavailable to comment on police progress in tracking down burglars.
Mayor Carolyn McAdams said it’s unfortunate, but this is the season when burglars are out casing cars for newly purchased Christmas gifts and breaking into cars and houses more often.
“I know that we’ve got extra patrols out, as many as we can,” McAdams said. “We’ve got uniformed police officers in unmarked cars patrolling neighborhoods looking for suspicious activity at this time of year.”
McAdams cautioned Greenwood residents to not leave packages in cars where they are visible to potential thieves.
Earlier in the month, Moore told the Commonwealth that as the holidays draw near, burglaries tend to go up and the department increases police patrols in neighborhoods.
The best deterrent, Moore said, is for neighbors to watch out for one another and report any unusual activity immediately. Strangers in cars and strangers on foot should be watched carefully, especially if they appear to be watching houses.
Residents who see anyone suspicious lingering or entering a house or who have information about burglaries should call the Sheriff’s Office at 453-5141, the Police Department at 453-3311 or Greenwood-Leflore-Carroll CrimeStoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
• Contact Kathryn Eastburn at 581-7235 or keastburn@gwcommonwealth.com.
