COLUMBIANA CO. Lock car doors, constable urges

Thieves leave vehicle doors open after they've taken the cash, the constable said.
LEETONIA -- Salem Township Constable Dan Valentine advises township residents and people living in nearby Leetonia and Washingtonville to lock their vehicles at all times.
Valentine said since Friday he has received several reports about cash taken from unlocked cars parked in driveways and in front of homes.
One woman reported her purse was taken from her car as it was parked overnight in her driveway. Other reports are of change and any other cash left in vehicles' ashtrays, cup holders and glove boxes, Valentine said.
Most of the thefts have occurred in the evenings, Valentine said. The thefts have not been isolated to any one area or neighborhood of the township but all over the township and in Leetonia and Washingtonville, he added.
"This isn't a case of someone -- maybe kids -- taking stuff from cars in a neighborhood," he said. "They are going all over, and it appears they are specifically looking for cash. There's been cases where other items, such as compact discs in the vehicles, weren't taken."
Open doors
Valentine said change taken from cupholders or ashtrays of vehicles might go unnoticed, but the thieves are leaving car doors open once they've entered them. He assumes the doors are left open so they don't make noise closing them.
Valentine said anyone with information about the thefts should call him at (330) 427-0808. Anyone who sees or hears anything suspicious shouldn't hesitate to call the police, he added.