Charges pending after two separate cases of vehicle larcenies in Forest

Thieves stole several items from multiple cars, including two firearms

FOREST, Va.UPDATE - April 8

The Bedford County Sheriff’s Office has identified two separate groups of juveniles as suspects in connection to two separate cases of vehicle thefts in the Forest area.

Authorities say the first incident happened on April 2 in the Farmington subdivision and confirmed that several items, including firearms, were stolen from unlocked cars.

Then on Friday, there was another string of vehicle thefts in a separate incident, this time at the Gables Apartments.

The Sheriff’s Office is currently working to confirm if both incidents and groups of suspects are related.

The Bedford County Sheriff’s Office encourages all citizens to lock their vehicles when they are unattended and advised citizens not to leave firearms inside their vehicles even when it is locked.

According to authorities, in each of these cases the suspects admitted that when they came across a locked vehicle, they would pass it by and were specifically seeking easy (unlocked) targets.

The Sheriff’s Office asked that anyone with information on either of these cases contact Investigator Burnette or Investigator Alderson at 540-586-4800, dispatch at 540-586-7827, or Central Virginia Crime Stoppers at 1-888-798-5900 or enter your tip online at http://p3tips.com or use the P3TIPS app on your mobile device. Crime Stopper callers remain anonymous and could receive a cash reward of up to $1,000.


ORIGINAL STORY - April 4, 2022

The Bedford County Sheriff’s Office is warning people to lock their car doors. This comes after a group made off with several stolen items over the weekend, including two firearms.

It was a startling Saturday morning for many living in the Farmington subdivision in Forest.

“Just a normal day. I was actually going into work,” neighbor Caelan McCann says. “Just walking into my driveway and I see my car door is slightly open.”

When McCann got a closer look, he realized someone had rummaged through his car. He says the only thing with any value in there was a bottle of cologne, and it was gone.

“It was really upsetting,” he says. “When I saw that, it just ruined my whole day.”

The thieves didn’t stop there. Eleven others called the Bedford Sheriff’s Office that morning with similar stories. Money, credit cards, electronics and even two firearms were missing.

“When you get home you feel that security and you forget to lock your vehicle,” Sheriff Mike Miller says. “We need to get them into a routine of locking vehicles.”

Neighbors’ Ring doorbell video showed deputies they were looking for a group of kids. They figured out that the group was already being looked at for stealing a vehicle in Lynchburg.

This led authorities to a Lynchburg home, where they found items that had been stolen from the Forest neighborhood car break-ins. All involved will face charges.

“It depends on what you steal,” Miller says. “It depends on the value of it. It could be all the way from a petty larceny to a felony larceny.”

Neighbors like McCann say at the end of the day, it’s just stuff and they’re glad no one was hurt.

“Just because you live in a nice area or a nice neighborhood, those are probably going to be one of the areas that are targeted the most,” McCann says.

He adds he’ll be locking up from now on and hopes others will too.


About the Authors:

Kortney joined the 10 News team as a Lynchburg Bureau Reporter in May 2021.

Jazmine Otey joined the 10 News team in February 2021.