AK-47, 250 rounds of ammunition stolen from truck in Center Grove
GREENWOOD, Ind. (WISH) — A thief is on the loose and that person may be armed with an assault rifle.
The Johnson County Sheriff’s Office said there was a rash of car break-ins over the week. The suspect got away with prescription pills, electronics and change. However, authorities are most concerned about an AK-47 with 250 rounds of ammunition that was stolen from a truck.
“It’s usually in a gun safe. I have grandchildren, and we follow all the safety precautions to keep it out of people’s hands. If somebody were to get hurt with this, it would be really upsetting,” said the gun owner, Monica.
Monica didn’t want to give her last name, but said she and her husband were preparing for a trip to the shooting range, so they got their AK-47 from the safe. They secured the gun with an extra lock and put it in a safety bag. They buried it in their truck, behind the seat with blankets over it. She then locked the doors to the truck, assuming it would be fine over night. But it wasn’t.
“No damage on the truck. But, it’s old, so you can jimmy it open really easy with one of those sticks. If it had been the newer truck or something, they may not have been able to get to it,” she said.
But that wasn’t the case, and somebody did break in and got away with the weapon. Along with their Buckmoor Manor neighborhood, six other car break-ins happened at several others communities in that area including the Eagle Trace subdivision and across the street at Highland Park.
Neighbors reported an iPod, Xanex pills, a wallet with cash and credit cards, and even $5 worth of change missing. But nothing has police more concerned than the AK-47.
“Hopefully it was just something stupid that they did at the time and it hasn’t fallen into the hands of somebody who is going to hurt somebody with it,” Monica said.
In many of those cases, the victims had more valuable items in their backseats like laptop computers or expensive tools, leading victims to believe that perhaps the suspect grabbed the first thing he or she saw then hurried away.
In Monica’s case, she believes that the ammunition on the car’s floor board caused the thief to dig around longer.
Authorities are hoping that homeowners in that area who have surveillance systems captured the suspect. If you have any information that could help officials in this investigation, contact the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office at 317-736-9155.