Police seek suspects in crime spree

An all-night crime spree that started with two burglaries at First Street businesses and ended with a suspected burglar trying the locks on two occupied homes has the Langley Police Department looking for one or more bold criminals.

It was sometime after 8 p.m. Sunday, said Langley Police Chief Bob Herzberg, that one or more people broke into storage areas at two downtown businesses. At one, a First Street restaurant, burglars made off with 10 cases of imported beer. Later that evening, a Fourth Street resident reported his car had been stolen.

As night crept into morning, the crimes began to overlap. The car thieves returned the car, parking it on the front lawn of the owner’s house. Inside the car, police found beer bottles and bottle caps from the cache of stolen beer and two cellular phone chargers, one of which was reported stolen along with a phone from a car owned by another Langley resident. Police officers found more of the stolen beer bottles at Langley’s Waterfront Park.

“Whoever did this was quite busy drinking, driving, and prowling around,” Chief Herzberg said.

Two more incidents that took place between 6:30 and 8:30 a.m. Monday gave police the best lead they have in the case. Two Langley residents reported hearing and seeing a large male juvenile trying to open the doors to their homes. The boy did not succeed in either attempt, but the residents were able to provide a physical description to the police.

By Tuesday, police were not certain whether they were looking for one or more suspects in the case. Herzberg said the amount of beer consumed indicates the crimes were committed by more than one person.

He said the worst aspect of the crimes was the fear they generated.

“Going to peoples’ doors, that’s a little scary,” he said.

Herzberg recommended that Langley residents and business owners keep their houses and cars locked at night and put valuables, such as cell phones, out of sight. He encouraged anyone with information about the overnight crimes to call 911.

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