EDINBURGH — As golfers were raising funds for substance abuse services at a golf tournament, thieves were breaking into their vehicles in the parking lot.
Windows on eight vehicles parked outside Timbergate Golf Course, 151 St. Andrews Ave., were discovered smashed at about noon Friday, Edinburgh Police Chief David Mann said.
Thieves took two laptop computers, a purse, a billfold and a briefcase while golfers dined during a luncheon during the Jeremy Witkemper Memorial Golf Outing, Mann said.
The golf outing is sponsored by the Jeremy Witkemper Memorial Foundation, which raises money to help individuals obtain alcohol addiction treatment and provides educational information to youth about making safer choices about alcohol.
Most smash-and-grab vehicle break-ins are committed by drug users who sell stolen items to obtain narcotics, Mann said.
Although there are no descriptions of the individuals, investigators are looking for a extended-length sport utility vehicle Mann described as a silver Chevrolet Suburban that was seen leaving the area, Mann said.
Edinburgh police believe two males in a white pickup truck attempted the same crime in the same parking lot the next day, the police chief said. However, it appears they were scared off Saturday by others before any damage or theft took place, Mann said.
The police chief suspects the same two men did steal a laptop computer later in the day from a Humvee parked outside the Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, 11701 U.S. 31 North, Edinburgh.
“These things happen a lot in the summer, as well as around the holidays — especially outside shopping malls,” Mann said.
Police ask residents to store personal belongings in a trunk or under a seat and out of sight to avoid becoming a theft victim.
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Anyone with information about a series of vehicle break-ins in Edinburgh is asked to contact the Edinburgh Police Department at 812-526-3504.
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