Cleveland Heights police deal with rash of car thefts, reports of auto damage over three day-period

CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, Ohio - Car thieves were on the rampage during a couple of recent nights stealing autos, stealing from them, and causing a great deal of damage.

Police took reports over a three-day period of five auto thefts, and several accounts of damage to parked cars.

The thefts included:

- A woman's Toyota Camry was reported stolen at 5:20 a.m. Oct. 10 from an Overlook Road apartment lot.

- A man's 2002 Toyota Camry was reported stolen at 9:20 a.m. Oct. 11 from a lot at 2600 Mayfield Road.

- A man's 2004 Toyota Camry was reported stolen at 11:30 a.m. Oct. 11 from a lot at Cedar and Norfolk roads.

- At 11:10 a.m. Oct. 11, a woman reported her 2006 Toyota Camry stolen from a lot at 2708 Mayfield Road.

- At 5:30 p.m. Oct. 11, a woman reported the theft of her 2000 Jeep Cherokee from a Hampshire Road lot.

As for damage, at 7:05 a.m. Oct. 12, officers were dispatched to the parking lot at 2300 Overlook Road, where a woman reported seeing at least 12 parked cars with smashed out windows. Officers confirmed the report and attempted to contact the owners of the vehicles to learn what may have been stolen from each vehicle.

Meanwhile, at 9:10 a.m. Oct. 12, a woman reported that the windows had been smashed on her 2021 Volvo as it was parked in an apartment lot at 2725 Hampshire Road.

A man, whose Nissan vehicle was also parked in the Hampshire lot, reported similar damage to his car.

Police obtained surveillance video that showed four suspects entering the lot just before 4 a.m. The suspects, who were in the lot for about three minutes, looked inside several parked vehicles, and two of them were seen entering the Volvo and Nissan.

While at the Hampshire Road lot, police saw in the adjoining lot at 2704 Mayfield Road, that three vehicles had been broken into: a 2015 Cadillac four-door sedan, a 2015 Audi four-door sedan, and a 2021 Ford Escort.

At 9:20 a.m., also on Oct. 12, a man reported that someone had broken out the passenger side window of his 2018 Chevrolet Cruze while it was parked in the lot at 2463 Overlook Road. While there, officers saw five other damaged vehicles.

And, prior to these incidents, at 10 a.m. Oct. 10, officers were called to city lot number 9 on Cedar Road, where a woman reported that someone broke out the rear driver's side window of her 2007 Dodge Durango and peeled its steering column.

Officers gathered DNA evidence where possible and are investigating.