Police unclear on what is behind spate of battery robberies
By Ethan Smith
Published in News on July 12, 2017 5:50 AM
Authorities are having difficulties pinpointing a reason for why a recent jump in reports of battery thefts is happening.
In the past week alone, two men have been arrested for stealing batteries en masse -- one allegedly stole 50 from a salvage yard, another reportedly stole 26 of them from school buses.
Maj. Anthony Carmon, head of the Goldsboro Police Department's Investigative Services Bureau, said there is no reason law enforcement has found as to why batteries are suddenly being stolen.
Carmon added that authorities have been able to recover some of the stolen batteries.
He confirmed the batteries are being sold to local pawn shops, and online "yard sale" sites on social media and Craigslist.
Maj. Tom Effler with the Wayne County Sheriff's Office said stolen batteries are usually sold to auto parts shops and salvage yards.
"I don't know if the price of batteries has gone up or what," Effler said. "They've always been an item to steal because you can sell them easy."
Effler said anywhere there is a stockpile of batteries is a potential target for a thief.
In addition to the two men being arrested for stealing a multitude of batteries, reports have been filed with both the Police Department and Wayne County Sheriff's Office recently that say more batteries have been stolen around the area.
In one instance, six batteries were stolen from activity buses parked at Southern Wayne High School.
In another, an automotive repair shop on North William Street reported nine batteries were stolen from several cars at the business.
"If you have a mass of batteries, you need to secure them," Effler said.