From late Monday night to early Tuesday morning, there were six car break-ins in a student-populated area of Southwest Gainesville.
The thieves broke into the cars and took stereos, GPS navigation devices and iPods, said Gainesville Police Department spokeswoman Summer Hallett. She said a propane spark plug was used to lift the windows off the cars in most cases.
Two cars were broken into at Countryside at the University, 4000 S.W. 23rd St., between 9 p.m. and 4:13 a.m., a GPD release stated. In both cases, a Pioneer stereo system was taken out of the car, Hallett said.
Between 8 p.m. and 8:15 a.m., an iPod and a TomTom GPS device were stolen from a car parked at the Polos apartment complex, 2330 S.W. Williston Road, the release stated.
A Nikon camera, binoculars, knife and an iPod were taken from an unlocked car parked at 3131 N.W. 9th Place between 7 p.m. and 7:30 a.m.
A handgun, a navigation and stereo system and a box of subwoofers were stolen from a car parked at Lexington Crossing Apartments, 3900 S.W. 27th St., between 1 and 7 a.m.
According to the release, the thieves tried to take the window off of a car at 3914 S.W. 26th Drive, but they abandoned the mission when the window shattered and triggered the alarm.
"When it (propane spark plug) is put next to the window, the window shatters," Hallett said. "If there is tint on it, the window stays together and they can lift it off of the car and place it on the ground."
