GOOCHLAND COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — A crime alert out of Goochland County tonight. The county’s Sheriff’s Office is warning people to lock up after a string of robberies in a high-end residential neighborhood.
The sheriff believes members of an international crime ring have been breaking into homes in the county. The thefts happened in the Rivergate community off Patterson Avenue.
“That’s scary, really scary,” said Jessica Turner. She lives right down the street from where the break-ins happened. Police say the break-ins started back in December.
The first one happened on Dec. 6 last year. The thefts continued into the early months of this year, with two more happening on Jan. 21 and March 10.
Turner said her mother lives alone in the area and something like this happening so close to her home makes her feel uneasy.
“It’s terrifying. We don’t know anything about it so it’s hard to hear like I had no idea that that was happening,” said Turner.
Deputies said they are looking into an international crime ring based out of South America, known as the “South American theft group,” however, police say they can’t comment on why they believe the group is responsible for the crimes.
Goochland is working with multiple jurisdictions to investigate. Turner said she has never seen or heard of anything like this happening in her community before.
“I haven’t! It’s like stolen bikes and missing dogs. It’s just really bizarre. I have never heard like that around here anyway,” she said.
The Sheriff’s Office also said the criminal organization moves up and down the east coast, where they break into “high-end residential homes.”
Turners said moving forward she’s going to make sure her family and neighbors are aware of the threat.
“Something different that we would do would probably be just talk to the neighbors about it too because we have a lot of people that stay at home and that’s concerning,” she said.
Authorities are reminding people to lock the doors to their homes and cars, make sure to turn on their alarms, and make sure cameras are in working order. Anyone with information about this should call the Goochland County Sheriff’s Office.
