Car theft on the rise in Hinesville

HINESVILLE, Ga. (WSAV) – Car thefts have been on the rise in Hinesville over the past few months, and police say they are still looking for the bigger motive.

“A lot of guns were stolen, a lot of money and other valuables were stolen,” Hinesville Police Chief Tracey Howard said.

There were nearly 50 car theft cases in October alone. There were over 30 issues in mid-November.

This is double the rate for October compared to last year and a significant increase for November compared to the same month in 2023.

This isn’t just a problem where victims will miss their stolen items; Hinesville is a military community.

“We’ve had a number of situations where a soldier left his military equipment, just his personal equipment, in his vehicle to be ready for work the next day and the vehicle was unsecured,” Howard said.

Chief Howard said civilians also had guns stolen from their cars.

“Most of the guns used in homicides other than domestic homicides are illegally obtained guns,” Howard said. “They’re mostly stolen.”

Such was the case with the latest arrest made by Hinesville Police in a case of car thefts. Jaquan Clemens was arrested for obstruction and possession of a stolen firearm. Police linked him to the break-in because he allegedly used the stolen gun for a different crime.

Chief Howard said most of those arrested in connection with car thefts were under the age of 18.

“We’re still trying to put a lot of the pieces together after the last arrest,” Howard said. “So this will probably be an ongoing determination as to whether the incident is linked to organized crime.”

Thefts are not limited to a particular neighborhood, but occur all over the city. But they have something in common.

“We’ve had a few vehicles broken into, but that’s not the trend,” Howard said. Unfortunately, these occur on rare occasions as many people leave their vehicles unlocked.”

Police said the most important thing you can do to avoid becoming a victim of theft from your vehicle is to always lock your vehicle and bring your valuables inside.

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