ERLANGER, Ky. — Surveillance video showing a group of young people breaking into unlocked cars outside Louisville has caught the attention of Erlanger detectives.
They say it's very similar to a string of car thefts in Erlanger, Florence and Elsmere last month.
The lead detective in the local investigation said nearly a dozen teens and young adults are involved and it's likely they could be the same ones seen in the new video captured in one Nelson County neighborhood.
The sheriff's office shared footage of the crimes on its Facebook page. The teens spent roughly an hour rifling through cars. In the footage, you can see at least one of the thieves holding a handgun as he gains access into a pickup truck.
The group was able to walk away with several items.
Det. Tom Loos in Erlanger said that's almost exactly how a group of nearly a dozen teens burglarized cars in his community in the early morning of March 15. That spree ended in a carjacking at an Erlanger home. A brother and sister tried to stop the teens, but they were able to get away, shooting at the siblings as they sped off.
The group made it to a gas station in Carroll County before leading authorities on a pursuit into Louisville. Kentucky State Police were able to take one girl into custody.
"The gun theme is something that I wouldn't expect to be a common theme," Loos said. "That gives me great pause. Obviously, the danger level is so accelerated because of that."
Loos said while car thefts are common, they're not typically as aggressive.
So when he saw the Nelson County footage, he suspected it could be the same thieves.
"We just don't know whether there is a central controllance sending these groups out or if they are simply just emulating each other because they seem to have some degree of success," Loos said.
While it's not a positive ID, Loos said one of the thieves seen in the Nelson County video is dressed very similarly to one caught on a Florence doorbell camera on March 15,
Loos said since then, his team has been able to identify a second suspect believed to be involved in the thefts. The search for others continues.
He said he is working on contacting Louisville police as well as the Nelson County Sheriff's Office to determine if the crimes are in fact connected.
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