Five vehicles parked at the Holiday Inn Express in Palm Coast’s Flagler Plaza Drive and 13 vehicles parked at the nearby Hampton Inn, just off I-95, were burglarized overnight Wednesday, and one stolen from the Holiday Inn parking lot was later recovered in Orlando. The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office is looking for at least four suspects in the burglaries and thefts, and has surveillance video of some of the rampage. It is not yet releasing the video, as the cases are being investigated.
The vehicles each had windows smashed and the contents ransacked. The suspects, who included a U.S. Forest Service vehicle among their targets, were using a dark-colored SUV.
Deputies found multiple clothing items and suitcases dumped behind the Mobil gas station at I-95 and State Road 100. The stolen car, a 2012 Hyundai Elantra, belongs to a couple from Michigan. They were staying at the Holiday Inn Express. The Florida Highway Patrol located the vehicle in Orlando at 6 a.m. Thursday, according to a sheriff’s incident report. The car had front-end damage, suggesting that it had been involved in a crash, but the keys were in the car. The belongings that were in the car were also recovered near the hotel.
A sheriff’s release notes that detectives believe the burglaries are related and part of a larger trend where suspects travel to an area and target vehicles by smashing the window if needed, then taking valuables to include purses and wallets. They immediately try to cash any checks they find, or use credit cards before they are deactivated.
The sheriff’s office reminds everyone to take steps to avoid becoming a crime victim and offers the following crime prevention tips:
ï‚· Take a few extra minutes to keep your vehicle locked.
 Don’t leave anything valuable in your vehicle. If you have to store valuables in your vehicle, lock them in the trunk completely out of sight.
ï‚· Park in a well-lighted area close to the front of businesses where more people are likely to see if something suspicious occurs.
ï‚· If you see something, say something by reporting suspicious activity to 911 immediately.
Anyone with information concerning these crimes, or any crime in Flagler County, is asked to contact the Flagler County sheriff’s Office at 386-313-4911. Callers can also remain anonymous by contacting Crime Stoppers of Northeast Florida at 1-888-277-8477 (TIPS). Callers are eligible to receive a reward of up to $1,000.
Outsider says
And if you see something suspicious, say something……unless of course, the suspicious person is a person with historical grievances, in which case, be prepared to face the wrath of an ever more sensitive population, which may include a front page article accusing you of profiling, and being insensitive to the sensitivities of sensitive people.
Rick says
I suspect this incident is related to this news story
http://www.news4jax.com/news/over-40-cars-burglarized-at-southside-hotel
My thoughts says
Seems the Sheriff’s recommendations are out of step with what happened….Windows smashed means the vehicles were probably locked. Once inside through a busted window, a truck can be unlocked. Park in a well lighted area, close to the front of the business, but if you’re the last car in the parking lot, that may not be an option.
Geezer says
You really have to be a heartless POS to steal a traveler’s suitcase and then dump the
persons’ clothes in back of a service station, all that on top of damaging their cars.
I hope that the perpetrators are caught, and on sentencing day are shown the same amount
of consideration they showed their victims.
Dave says
nothing around 100 and I-95 is safe, to much as occurred around that intersection. I like the comment “recovered in Orlando” which leads me to believe these dirt bags were from that area
confidential says
I am not a wealthy corporation hotel owner and I have surveillance cameras around my house…a real deterrent proven since installed 10 years ago, These hotels do not have surveillance cameras to document thieves and or vandals? After all is a matter of their customers safety isn’t?
Rick says
Surveillance cameras do not deter crime, bank robberies are a perfect example of that!
Brian says
Well said, Outsider.
confidential says
Rick many thieves are caught thanks to surveillance camera images. Works in my block and house good deterrent. May not be as good for banks but they have them anyway.
I am okay with surveillance cameras as I have nothing to hide.