Bensalem police investigating string of car thefts, attempted burglary

BENSALEM, Pennsylvania (WPVI) -- Bensalem police are investigating a string of car thefts and an attempted burglary that happened all in one night in the township's Eddington section.

Workers at East Coast Cycle Center were awoken very early Wednesday morning by the business security system.

"I looked at the alert and I was hoping it was just a cat. It turned out it was three guys walking around in our backyard," said general manager William Mack.

Bensalem Township police say three juveniles pulled up to the business on Bristol Pike in a U-Haul box truck around 1:30 a.m. and were caught on camera attempting to steal ATVs.

The suspects fled on foot when police arrived and were later taken into custody.

The general manager says incidents like this led them to invest heavily in cameras and security monitoring.

"Four different attempts. We've recovered multiple bikes. We've gotten a lot of people locked up for breaking in," said Mack.

But that wasn't the only crime that night in the Eddington section of Bensalem.

Police say around 2:30 a.m., a car was reported stolen from the parking lot of the Wawa on Bristol Pike. Two males were seen entering an unlocked car with keys in the ignition before fleeing south on Bristol Pike.

Just after 6 a.m. Wednesday, two more separate reports of stolen cars came in.

A white Hyundai Elantra was stolen from outside of a home on Elwood Avenue. Police say the car was unlocked with keys inside.

A black Ford Fusion was also reported stolen from the driveway of a home on Bowman Avenue.

Police say this car was locked, but a key fob was inside.

"Take that extra second to just flip your wrist, lock that door or push that button and lock your car. That way you can avoid being a victim the next morning," said Det. Sgt. Glenn Vandegrift.

Police say this could be part of an organized group targeting the area.

Police also got reports that night of a group walking around Eddington trying to open car doors to see if they were unlocked.

Authorities are trying to figure out if all of these crimes are connected to each other and to other recent car thefts in the area.

Anyone with information should contact Bensalem Township police.