PIERCE TOWNSHIP, Ohio — Pierce Township police stopped three people in the Prestwick neighborhood Friday evening after developing probable cause linking them to a string of vehicle break-ins, the department said.
Video obtained by officers, along with property recovered near the scene, tied the individuals to the reported offenses, according to a Pierce Township Police Department Facebook post. The three were unarmed when they were stopped, police said. The investigation remains open, and no charges had been announced as of Saturday.
Police are asking residents in the Prestwick area to review home security camera footage from Friday evening for any sign of suspicious people, vehicles or activity. Anyone with relevant video is asked to contact Officer Christopher Chesney at [email protected].
“Please do not approach or confront anyone you believe may be involved in criminal activity; contact law enforcement instead,” the department said in its post, thanking residents for their continued vigilance.
Suspects are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
The stop comes weeks after Pierce Township police flagged a separate string of vehicle thefts in the township’s Legendary Run, Turnberry, Kipling Crossing and Kittery Lane neighborhoods, in which unlocked vehicles were targeted and key fobs left inside were stolen in several cases.
Pierce Township, a roughly 23-square-mile community in Clermont County near Cincinnati that also includes the former village of Amelia south of State Route 125, has been policed since the 1950s, when the department consisted of a single full-time constable. The department, now led by Police Chief Paul F. Broxterman Jr., operates around the clock and says it maintains one of the lowest crime rates in the county.
The information contained in this story was obtained from the Pierce Township Police Department.