Ten residential burglaries, several of which involved broken windows, have been reported in Marshalltown since Sunday. Most recently there were three incidents Tuesday near Elmwood Country Club.
At 608 Elmwood Dr., Ben Johns reported a window broken in his car. His friend, Yeriy Kirsanof, of Swea City, had two windows broken in his car which was parked near Johns'. Nothing was missing out of either car.
There were break-ins in two buildings in the area. Marvin Kuehner,1704 Hillcrest Rd., found someone had used a rock to break open the door to his Morton Building. The burglar entered Kuehner's pick-up truck, parked inside the building, but nothing was missing either from the truck or the building. The scene was similar at 611 Elmwood where homeowner John Graether said the walk-in door to his attached garage was broken. Vehicles inside the garage were entered, but nothing was taken save for loose change.
Assistant Police Chief Brian Batterson said his department does not have a suspect, but he believes they were likely committed by the same person.
"Same area, at night, same kind of thing," Batterson said.
Batterson added that those break-ins were similar to ones reported about two weeks ago in the same area.
In addition, there were other burglaries to cars and homes in different parts of the city:
Ted Larson, 306 Sharon Ave., reported Monday that someone pried open the window of his Chevrolet Cavalier and took a laptop computer.
Armando Chavarria, 203 Sharon Ave., had the passenger door of his Dodge Magnum pick-up pried open. A television, radio and VCR were taken.
Tabitha Tate, 620 Woodbury St., said a computer, video camera and about 300 DVDs were taken from her home. The report did not mention if the thief entered by force.
Estephanie Lopez, 608 E. Church St., was broken into Sunday morning. Three windows and a garage door were damaged but nothing stolen.
Nancy Luense, 509 N. 3rd St., reported Sunday that her Pontiac was broken into. Her purse, containing $240 in cash and also credit cards, was taken.
Wendy Creekmur, 304 N. 5th St., lost a car radio when her Pontiac Grand Am was broken into Monday.
Prior to that spree, a burglary occurred last Thursday at Family Time Furniture, 2501 S. Center St. About $4,300 worth of jewelry, cameras and digital recorders were taken.
Batterson said the thief came into the strip mall, where the business is located, through a storage closet and entered through the ceiling.
"There was no sign of forced entry on that door; we're not even sure if it was locked," Batterson said. "We're still trying to determine if there is evidence (recovered from the scene)."
It is unknown if the burglaries were committed by the same person or people.
In what Batterson feels is an incident unrelated to the residential break-ins, The Old Timer, 401 S. Center St., was broken into around 5 a.m. Saturday morning. Batterson has a suspect but would not release his name. An eyewitness saw a man, who appeared drunk, smash a window and crawl through the opening. Batterson said a video camera inside the bar captured an image of the burglar. The man, who stole alcohol, also cut himself on broken glass and police recovered a blood sample.
"He looked too clumsy in his entry, and in what he stole, to be anywhere near the person that's doing these residential burglaries," Batterson said.
Tuesday night, the Marshalltown Police Department held a forum to address the recent spate of crime. Casee Veren, the department's Crime Control Officer, reported that there had been 22 burglaries this August, compared to 23 last August and 29 in August of 2009.