The Plain City Police Department provided a photo Tuesday from footage of an attempted vehicle theft in a village neighborhood from July 17 around 4:30 a.m. According to a statement from the police the department, the suspect in the photo attempted to get into the pickup truck but gave up after discovering it was locked. PCPD officers arrested two suspects tied to the series of neighborhood thefts on Wednesday morning. Police are also working to identify a third suspect.
(Photo submitted)
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Two suspects are in custody and being charged with theft after police tied them to a string of burglaries in several Plain City neighborhoods.
Officers from the Plain City Police Department arrested Daniel Hayes, 21, and Michael Swayne, 48, both of London, early Wednesday morning, according to a statement from PCPD. Officers went to the neighborhood in response to the call and caught one of the suspects in the act of breaking into a vehicle off Lantern Lane in Plain City.
Officers also located several duffel bags and backpacks full of stolen property that law enforcement is working to return to the owners.
“We got a call from a resident that said they spotted some suspicious activity in their neighborhood early in the morning,” said PCPD Chief Dale McKee. “Officers converged on the location on foot and actually found one of the suspects in the vehicle’s driver’s seat attempting to steal it.”
McKee said there is also a third suspect that officers are in the process of identifying.
According to the statement put out by the police department on social media, the village has had multiple thefts from vehicles as well as two stolen in the last week.
Only one of the vehicles has been recovered and found in Columbus, the statement said.
Officers also recovered a stolen truck from London but haven’t yet confirmed if it is tied to the robberies.
Law enforcement shared a photo from security camera footage online showing an attempted robbery in progress from July 17 around 4:30 a.m.
“Many of the incidents involved unlocked vehicles,” McKee said. “We want to urge residents to keep their doors locked and keep valuables in the house. We think that most of these thefts were preventable.”
In most cases the suspects found loose change and cash in the vehicles, McKee said, adding that the footage from July 17 depicted the suspect giving up after discovering certain vehicles were locked. Suspects were looking for easy targets and skipped over locked cars even with valuables in plain sight, he said.
Police believe the incidents last week throughout the Carriage Estates, Darby Estates and Willow Creek neighborhoods are all connected and more charges are expected. The incidents remain under investigation.
The two suspects were transported to Tri-County Regional Jail.