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Police In Hempfield Twp. Looking For Suspect In String Of Break-Ins

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WESTMORELND COUNTY, Pa. (KDKA) – Hundreds of dollars worth of items were stolen from several vehicles in Westmoreland County.

Sandie and Mike Gaffney live along Hunt Club Drive and say they got a pretty unpleasant surprise when they opened their car's door this week.

"We came out to start the car and my husband came out said the kids were in the car it's a mess," Sandie Gaffney said.

It didn't take the Hempfield Township couple long to figure out, kids weren't in the car, but an alleged thief was.

"They stole my brief case, credit cards," Sandie Gaffney said.

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And the Gaffney's weren't alone.

"(We came) to find out other neighbors got hit," Sandie Gaffney said. "They took electronics, personal items."

According to State Police, the Gaffney's neighborhood has been very popular when it comes to car break-ins.

For the first time in a long time, investigators might have caught a break, saying they have surveillance footage.

In addition to losing some expensive items and other things the people in this neighborhood say they lost something a lot more important, something you can't not get at a pawn shop or in fact can ever be recovered and that's a sense of security.

"It was more like emotional, being violated," Sandie Gaffney said. "Someone else took your own stuff and they were on your property. Like, this is home."

"Now we have to be more guarded the community has to be more guarded," Mike Gaffney said. "It happened to us it can happen to them. We have to be aware and communicate with each other."

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