Arrests made in Noblesville theft ring

NOBLESVILLE, Ind. (WISH) - An unprecedented rash of car break-ins have Noblesville residents on edge. So far police have arrested three juveniles but they believe eight more teens are involved in the theft ring.

The break-ins started earlier this month and are still going on; another victim just reported a car break in Wednesday morning.

"My wife realized she was missing her sunglasses and her green iPod," Tau Swenson said.

Swenson was one of the first victims in the teen theft ring. Noblesville police say the suspects easily got into Swenson's car because it was unlocked.

"Since then we lock the doors and don't leave stuff in the trucks," Swenson said.

Police say the thieves targeted nine subdivisions on the northwest side of town in the end stealing about $10,000 worth of property like GPS devices, radar detectors and even three guns. Police say there are at least 50 victims.

"I was really surprised. Usually we have a sheriff drive by but we rarely have sirens. It's just really quiet. It was really a shock," said Swenson.

Police said the suspects would only break into unlocked cars because they didn't want to draw any attention to themselves by breaking a window. Police said they would stay inside the car until they gathered everything they wanted, from iPhones to iPods. They would also make sure the dome light was turned off or even take out the light bulb.

"Unbelievable, I'm going to start locking my car," concerned resident Geoff Benson said.

Police got some of the stolen items back but say the thieves had already sold some of it on eBay.

"As these juveniles continue to network it's endless in terms of how widespread the problem can be and we'd be naïve to think it's only happening in Noblesville. We think it's happening everywhere," Noblesville Police Lt. Bruce Barnes explained.

With eight suspects still at large, police are warning residents to make sure cars are locked and valuables stowed away.

Noblesville police have increased patrols in the targeted neighborhoods.