Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office in Fountain Hills is reporting an increase in vehicle break-ins over the past week, as well as two stolen vehicles reported.

MCSO Capt. Larry Kratzer described both situations as “abnormal.”

“I would assume on the vehicle burglaries that we may have had a group come in and go car to car checking for unlocked doors, as each of the vehicle burglaries were unlocked cars,” Kratzer said. “Fortunately, in…everyone of them there was no valuables in the vehicle. They only had the contents of their glove box gone through.

“We are going to increase our neighborhood patrols during the night hours, especially as the night weather is dropping, which makes it a little more enticing for thieves.”

*On Thursday, Sept. 17, a resident of the 17000 block of La Montana Drive reported an attempted burglary from a vehicle in which the victim found his vehicle door open and papers disheveled, but nothing missing. The victim reported he did not lock his vehicle the night before.

*On Thursday, Sept. 17, deputies stopped a motorist for speeding near Palisades and Fountain Hills boulevards. It was determined the driver had never been issued a license out of any jurisdiction. Pursuant to state law the vehicle was towed and impounded on a 30-day impound.

*On Thursday, Sept. 17, deputies took a report of a theft in which the victim reported losing his wallet in the parking lot of a store in the 16600 block of Palisades Blvd. A short time after losing the wallet the victim found an unknown suspect attempted to use his credit cards at various locations in the East Valley.

*On Friday, Sept. 18, deputies arrested a subject for assaulting a deputy in the 12200 block of Tower Drive. Deputies were called for a man acting erratic and possibly trying to enter the backyard of a residence. Deputies located the man at a nearby park, who began to run and yell incoherent statements. When deputies caught up with the man, he struck one deputy with his hands and kicked another deputy. Deputies were familiar with the subject from prior incidents in which it is believed he suffers from a mental health disorder.

*On Friday, Sept. 18, a resident of the 16500 block of Gunsight Drive reported a burglary from a vehicle in which the victim was inside her residence and heard noises outside. When she looked she saw three subjects talking and standing near her car, with one subject inside her vehicle. The victim made contact with the subjects who reportedly all scattered. Only minor items of value were taken. There did not appear to be any forced entry to the vehicle.

*On Friday, Sept. 18, a resident reported a criminal damage incident in the 12200 block of Tower Drive. The victim reported two windows on her vehicle were broken and blood on the vehicle. This incident was believed to be related to the prior incident in which deputies were assaulted by a subject who attempted to enter the backyard of a residence. The suspect in this case has a history of damaging other people’s vehicles.

*On Friday, Sept. 18, deputies received a report of a vehicle burglary in the 10400 block of Saguaro Blvd. A resident reported that her out-of-state neighbor’s vehicle was found in the morning with the doors open and papers disheveled. The owner was contacted and stated she left the doors unlocked but had no items of value inside the vehicle.

*On Friday, Sept. 18, a resident of the 15800 block of Tumbleweed Drive reported a bogus check in which the victim stated he had received a check in the mail made out to him in the amount of nearly $3,000. The victim was not aware of why someone had sent him a check and his bank verified that the check was bogus.

*On Friday, Sept. 18, a resident of the 11800 block of Oasis Drive reported a theft in which an unknown suspect stole a package out of a mailbox of the victim.

*On Friday, Sept. 18, deputies received a report of a stolen vehicle from the 13200 block of Fountain Hills Blvd. The victim reported her vehicle was stolen from the parking lot of her residence. The victim stated the vehicle was locked and she had the keys, but said that the vehicle was new to her and she wasn’t sure if someone else possessed a spare key to the vehicle. There were no signs of broken glass or other indicators of forced entry.

*On Friday, Sept. 18, a resident of the 16500 block of Gunsight Drive reported a burglary from a vehicle in which an unknown suspect stole items out of the bed of a truck as it was parked in the residential parking lot of the complex.

*On Friday, Sept. 18, deputies responded to a two-vehicle collision at Shea Blvd. and Eagle Mountain Parkway. The non-injury accident involved a driver who reported he was rear-ended by another vehicle as he proceeded to accelerate once the light turned green. The other driver indicated the vehicle in front of him rolled back into him and, due to the vehicle having cameras that his company provided, he was able to provide footage verifying the fact that the vehicle in front of him did indeed back or roll into his vehicle.

*On Saturday, Sept. 19, a resident of the 15100 block of Aspen Drive reported a theft in which an unknown suspect stole the victim’s mailbox from the front of his home.

*On Saturday, Sept. 19, deputies responded to a hit and run collision in the 12800 block of Mountainside Drive in which a suspect vehicle struck a parked vehicle and then fled the area.

*On Saturday, Sept. 19, deputies responded to the 16900 block of Shea Blvd. for a report of an aggravated assault with a weapon. The victim reported that an acquaintance he was traveling with from California to Oklahoma got into an argument with him at the store when they stopped for gas. The argument led to the suspect pulling out a knife and stabbing the victim in the hand with the knife. The suspect then allegedly fled in a vehicle.

*On Sunday, Sept. 20, a resident of the 16600 block of Avenue of the Fountains reported a disorderly conduct in which the victim stated an elderly male subject harassed her, took pictures of her and used vulgar language with her because she was inside the building not wearing a mask.

*On Sunday, Sept. 20, deputies responded to the 14600 block of Fountain Hills Blvd. and took a report of a theft in which the victim alleged an unknown person stole two political signs in his front yard and damaged a third.

*On Sunday, Sept. 20, deputies responded to a two vehicle non-injury collision at Palisades Blvd. and Ridgeway Drive. A vehicle hit a large amount of water on the roadway and hydroplaned into the curb. Another driver attempted to avoid striking the car and changed lanes but struck the vehicle. Deputies noted that there was a large amount of water on the roadway due to a water main break in the area.

*On Monday, Sept. 21, a resident of the 16300 block of Ridgeline Drive reported an identity theft incident in which an unknown person filed for unemployment benefits using the victim’s information.

*On Tuesday, Sept. 22, a resident of the 15600 block of Mustang Drive reported an incident of identity theft in which an unknown person filed for unemployment benefits using the victim’s information.

*On Tuesday, Sept. 22, deputies responded to a single vehicle, minor injury collision at Saguaro Blvd and Desert Vista. A vehicle veered off the roadway and struck a tree. The elderly male driver indicated that he may have fallen asleep, causing him to go off the roadway. The driver was transported to the hospital to be evaluated.

*On Tuesday, Sept. 22, a resident of the 15600 block of Robin Drive reported an incident of identity theft in which an unknown person used the victim’s personal information to obtain a small business loan.

*On Sunday, Sept. 20, a resident of the 15400 block of Sundown Drive reported a vehicle burglary in which an unknown suspect entered the victim’s vehicle while it was parked and rummaged through the contents of the glove compartment. No items of value were taken and there was no sign of forced entry.

*On Tuesday, Sept. 22, a resident of the 14200 block of Calle Del Oro reported a theft in which someone stole a planter from the victim’s front porch.

*On Wednesday, Sept. 23, deputies responded to the area of La Montana and Crystal Ridge drives for a reported burglary from a vehicle in which an unknown suspect stole a chainsaw from a landscaping trailer while the landscaper was working.

*On Wednesday, Sept. 23, deputies responded to the 16500 block of Gunsight Drive for a report of a residential burglary and a vehicle burglary at the same residence. The homeowner stated she has been out of town for a couple of months and found that the electric stair lift had been removed with wiring exposed and that the vehicle parked at the residence had a door slightly ajar and contents of the glove box had been rummaged through. The victim stated the vehicle was left unlocked.

*On Wednesday, Sept. 23, deputies responded to the 16500 block of Avenue of the Fountains for a report of a vehicle burglary in which an unknown suspect entered the victim’s unlocked vehicle and rummaged through the contents of the glove box. No items of value were taken.

*On Wednesday, Sept. 23, deputies responded to the 15200 block of Fountain Hills Blvd. and took a report of stolen construction vehicles from a construction site at the location. The victim reported that the company is doing a project in town and when his crew arrived for work they found a dump truck and trailer with a Bob-cat tractor on it were stolen. The company had GPS devices on the vehicles and were able to locate the vehicles in Glendale, where they found two male subjects in the equipment who fled from the scene when they were confronted. Glendale PD was able to recover the vehicles for the victim.