Thief turns time for giving into crime spree, racking up more than just stolen goods

LELAND, N.C. (WECT) - Only a day before Christmas, a thief racked up hundreds of dollars in stolen goods, ransacking cars in the Lily Pond neighborhood in Leland.

“It was just picked through; stuff was everywhere and they took the silliest things too,” said Sarah Zachary.

It happened around 3 a.m. Thursday morning. Home security cameras caught a person, who neighbors believe could be the thief, walking down the street with bags in his hand.

Zachary said she recognizes the bag, because it holds personal value to her and her husband. Something that can’t be replaced.

“Actually, the most import thing he took was this Ducks unlimited bookbag,” said Zachary. “In the Ziploc bag was every love letter I’ve ever written him since we’ve been together. He would take it to work with him so if he was having a bad day, he could pull it out and look at them like, oh this is why I do what I do.”

The thief also took items with more monetary values like a phone, GPS, work tools and a garage door opener.

Regardless of what was taken, Zachary says with four kids in her house, the idea a criminal was so close violates that sense of security that no parent should have to worry about.

“It feels gross,” said Zachary. “It feels gross to think about somebody coming through your property and going through your stuff.”

The break-ins go hand-in-hand with local law enforcement’s #9pmroutine campaign, which promotes neighbors to lock both car and home doors and remove any valuables from vehicles.

Zachary says despite her losses it’s a simple program that could prevent you from going through her pain.

“Lock your doors and stay vigilant and get security cameras because those really help out,” said Zachary.

Back in June, Leland PD said there had been 25 car break-ins, similar to these, ones that could’ve been prevented.

The Brunswick County sheriff’s office is investigating the case and asks if you have any information, to contact them.

You can do that here.

Copyright 2020 WECT. All rights reserved.