CAPE CORAL, Fla. — Cape Coral Police need your help in identifying a man who tried to break into a Lee County deputy's car, and possibly nine other cars.
On Saturday morning, police say the suspect walked up the deputy's driveway and pulled on the door handle of the marked deputy's car. The man is then seen pulling on the handle of the deputy's personal truck.
"This kind of bold behavior is definitely not something normal that we see," said Mercedes Phillips, spokeswoman for the Cape Coral Police Department.
When police responded to the northwest Cape Coral neighborhood, officers found nine other cars which had been rummaged through. Police say a few of those owners found their doors wide open. It's not clear if anything was taken.
Police tell Fox 4 the city has seen this happening more often.
"We’ve had an increase in vehicle burglaries and things like that so we’re trying to investigate further," Phillips explained. "Get a wraps on whoever it might be if it’s multiple suspects, one and then go from there to try and get justice for the people in the neighborhoods."
She says the nine cars that were rummaged through — all the doors were unlocked. Phillips believes the uptick is tied to both people not locking their cars and more criminals taking advantage of that.
Phillips says even if you live in a safe area, locking your door is still essential.
"Those exact neighborhoods are the ones going to be a target for suspects that are looking for stuff like that because it’s a crime of opportunity," Phillips said. "They know they are going to a good neighborhood where people are trusting and probably don’t have their doors locked and that probably means you’re going to be a victim of a crime like that as well."
Fort Myers Police also recently said it's seeing an uptick of the same crime. A few months ago, Collier County deputies had the same issue.
Police want to remind you to lock your doors, no matter how safe your neighborhood is.
If you recognize the suspect in the video, call police.
