OVERLAND PARK, Kan. — If you live or work in Overland Park, expect to see more police officers in the area of I-435 and Metcalf. More than three dozen car break-ins happened overnight Tuesday at seven different hotels.
Police believe it was the work of one or two people and they could be driving a red Pontiac Grand Am or Grand Prix. A car fitting that description was seen in at least two hotel parking lots overnight. The majority of the cars were locked and thieves broke out the windows.
“In most auto burglaries the car’s left unlocked, they get in there and don’t want to draw attention to themselves, so breaking the window obviously raises the stakes that somebody is going to hear it,” explained Officer Gary Mason.
Of the 40 vehicles broken into, none remained in parking lots Tuesday afternoon. There were several piles of broken glass left behind and almost all of them were in parking spaces at the back of the lot or far from view of the hotel entrances.
The majority of the cars broken into were late-model pick-up trucks, police say whatever the burglars were looking for seemed specific.
“In some of the cases, nothing was taken or there was nothing to be taken, but they still broke in there looking through the console, glove box, specifically for items, maybe high-end electronics, but could have been weapons as well,” said Ofc. Mason.
Police plan to increase patrols in the area. Detectives will be looking at surveillance video and traffic cameras to see if they can get a better look at the suspects car or the people involved.