CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, Ohio — Cleveland Heights police received calls of 46 vehicles damaged, with some having property stolen from them overnight, according to police.
Cleveland Heights Police received the calls at about 7 a.m. Monday, police said in a news release. Preliminary investigation indicates 46 vehicles were damaged overnight, and some had property stolen.
The break-ins happened in parking lots across the city, including in the areas of Cedar Road and Fairmount Boulevard, the 3200 block of Meadowbrook Blvd., and the 1400 block of Warrensville Center Road.
"I feel frustrated," said Patrick Ellsworth, a medical student at Case Wetern Reserve University who had his window broken. "I'm going to get it repaired today, and it probably could happen again tonight."
Ellsworth said the thieves passed over expensive sunglasses and a navigation system and only took loose change.
After cracking two of Bill Gresham's front windows and shattering two back ones, the crooks took a single roll of quarters from Bill Gresham's car.
"I served in Vietnam, I'd be glad to talk to them," said Gresham. "I'll leave health, they're not going to."
News 5 also found at least nine cars with broken windows in parking lots in neighboring East Cleveland, off Terrace Road.
"It's nerve wracking really," said Lamar Williams as he taped plastic over his broken window. "It's hurting."
The Shaker Square Alliance responded to the crime spree, since the square is a hub to Cleveland, East Cleveland, Cleveland Heights and Shaker Heights.
Alliance Executive Director Chip Bromley told News 5 he's encouraging police in all jurisdictions to work together and share information when similar crimes occur in multiple communities.
"Here we have the RTA, the Shaker Heights police, the Cleveland police and the Cleveland Heights police,” Bromley said.
“I think that the collaboration is a essential to getting the results that you want.”
“We know that video cameras work, and we know that residents who are alert, who see things and report things and let people know what’s going on in their neighborhood also works.”
Buckeye neighborhood community activist Rob Render said his group also helped to create the Buckeye, Shaker Square, Larchmere Safety and Security Coalition.
Render said the coalition has monthly breakfast meetings, and includes several police departments, who share information.
He believes police departments need to work together more often, especially when crime sprees can have a negative effect on multiple neighborhoods.
“There’s not just one loser, the neighborhood can lose, the community can lose beyond that,” Render said.
“It has a rippling effect on that community, people may decide they want to move, businesses that were thinking about open there may change their mind.”
Anyone with information on the incidents in asked to call police at 216-321-1234 or the CHPD TipLine at 216-291-5010. Callers may remain anonymous.
