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Rash of vehicle break-ins in Franklin Twp neighborhood

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Neighbors in one Franklin Township neighborhood are reporting several vehicle break-ins. They did get police involved, but are now taking matters into their own hands.

Many of the thefts happened early Thursday morning at the Wildwood Farms Subdivision off of Southeastern Avenue near Franklin Road.

Homeowners are now fighting back with social media and surveillance videos. One homeowner uploaded his video on Facebook Friday morning. In less than 12 hours, it had already been viewed more than 2,000 times. For a small community, that could be crucial in cracking the case.

Josh Ray’s home is well equipped. Security cameras are fastened to just about every corner.

“We get notifications when somebody drives by, when somebody is walking up to the door and we’re constantly looking to see who it is,” he said.

Thursday was no different. The camera was rolling when a van pulls up across the street. You see the suspect get out and race down the street. About eight minutes later, that person returns to the van. It then speeds away. Neighbors made their way to Ray’s home. They were hoping to catch a glimpse of what his cameras caught. Faith Murawaski lives a couple doors down.

“It was locked. They keep them locked because they have thousands of dollars worth of tools in their trucks,” she said.

Thieves targeted Murawski’s stepson’s work truck; getting away with about $1,500 worth of tools.

“The seats were pulled forward and the extension cords were all over the seats and all of his tools were gone,” she said.

Several other neighbors took to the Franklin Township Crime Facebook page to share similar stories. It’s one way neighbors are working together to fight crime.

“There’s been several postings of video of these guys who are breaking into vehicles, taking thousands of dollars of tools,” said Ray.

One problem, however, that police are having is people just reporting on social media and not to authorities. If you have any information that could help in this investigation, call Crime Stoppers at 317-262-TIPS.

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