‘It’s out of control;’ uprise in car theft causes frustration among Montgomery County residents

HARRISON TWP. — Montgomery County residents are expressing their frustration over an uprise in car thefts following a crash involving a stolen car in a Meadowdale High School parking lot.

>>PHOTOS: Sky 7 drone footage shows tire marks of stolen vehicle doing donuts at Meadowdale High School

No one was injured in the crash, but one of the drivers was hurt when he tried to run and students and faculty chased him down and caught him.

Images from Sky 7 show both the field and parking lot still have marks on them from people doing donuts with a stolen car.

>>PHOTOS: Tire marks from stolen car at high school practice field

According to Leronda Jackson, who arrived at the high school when the boys were being arrested, two vehicles were heavily damaged and two were totaled.

Jackson told News Center 7′s Kayla McDermott that she doesn’t feel safe in her community because of all of the car thefts in the county.

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“That’s a major problem when you don’t feel safe in your own community. And then not only is the vehicle stolen, you’re driving it like an idiot,” Jackson said.

Montgomery County Sherriff Rob Streck told McDermott he understands the frustration.

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“It scares me to hear that we had to have our students chase down these individuals because that can always be dangerous. But it just kind of shows you once again how people are fed up with what’s going on,” Streck said.

Streck said he is just as frustrated with the amount of car thefts in the area.

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“I’ve heard about the Kia boys. It’s not a joke anymore. It’s it’s people committing crimes with these stolen vehicles. And it’s dangerous,” Streck said. “We have to get a handle on this.”

Multiple police officers, deputies, plainclothes detectives, and air support are being sent out to try and put a stop to the problem, according to Streck.

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“In the last 36 hours, the regional dispatch center just itself has had 17 stolen vehicles and recoveries. It’s out of control,” Streck said.

Drivers are urged to lock their doors and be mindful of where they park their cars.

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