A series of burglaries in a Lowndes County subdivision has neighbors on high alert.
Providence Place, a quarter-mile street off of Yorkville Road with 21 houses, has experienced five break-ins over the past two weeks.
District 4 Supervisor Jeff Smith and Lowndes County Sheriff”s Office Chief Deputy Greg Wright were at the Providence Place management office Thursday for a community meeting on crime prevention.
“(Residents) are totally frantic. We”re trying to get a handle on it and put measures in place,” said Smith.
Although law enforcement has been called out to Providence Place five times, only three houses have been burglarized. Erica Williams, a single mother of three young boys, has been hit three times during daylight hours despite keeping her doors locked.
“Somehow they”re figuring out how to pop (the locks on) the windows,” she said. “It”s getting old. They”ve taken everything my children have.”
Items stolen from the home included jewelry and Xbox and Wii video game systems, Williams said. Other items stolen have included a GPS system, a cell phone and cash.
Williams” home was first burglarized Oct. 27. In a strange coincidence, that same day, just prior to discovering her house had been broken into, she caught a small group of 10-13-year-old girls in her back yard.
“I was leaving the house and saw these little girls coming over the fence. I stopped them and talked to them and they said they were going to the playground. I told them to go around and they yes-ma”amed and went on,” she said. “Later I was in my bathroom and I noticed mud on the window sill. I raised the blinds and saw the screen was missing.”
Williams isn”t sure if the girls had anything to do with the recent break-ins. Providence place is surrounded by three apartment complexes so children passing through the neighborhood is nothing unusual.
Since the latest burglary, Williams has taken steps to barricade her windows.
At the community meeting Thursday, residents from approximately 11 homes on Providence Place attended to listen to Wright”s advice. They spoke about establishing a neighborhood watch, leaving lights on and the possibility of putting up additional fencing.
Smith urged residents to be vigilant.
“This is the time of the year where people tend to prey on each others” innocence. People need to be alert,” he said.
Jason Browne was previously a reporter for The Dispatch.
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