Duo caught on video attempting to break into vehicles in South Daytona

Police say break-ins are on the rise

SOUTH DAYTONA, Fla. – South Daytona police are asking the public for help after surveillance video caught two people attempting to break into vehicles along Coral Circle.

After looking at surveillance video, police checked with nearby neighbors.

The door of an F-150 was open. The owner noticed his gun inside was gone.

Pamela Grotendorst heard about the break-in the next morning. She said it's scary to hear and news that makes her question where she lays her head at night.

"It makes me very sad. It really does," Grotendorst said. "I have lived here all my life, and sometimes I think that we should pack up and move back out to the country."

Police said break-ins are on the rise, with 580 reported vehicle break-ins in Volusia County since the first of the year. That doesn't include self reports and those that go unreported.

"That doesn't surprise me at all," Jim Rademacher said. "You know, it's just one of those things that ... today we have to be kind of careful about."

Rademacher lives a few houses down from where the attempted break-ins happened. He's taken precautions long before thieves made their way to the neighborhood. He's added security cameras, motion-sensor lighting and car alarms.

"We have put new windows in the house as well. We're told that they'll withstand winds of about 170-175 miles an hour. They could crack or make the window a mess, but they're not going to break in," Rademacher said.

Police said there were also break-ins last month in the Jemecy Oaks subdivision. Police told told News 6 that they don't think the incidents are connected.

Because this is a split-second crime, police said it's tough to catch thieves in the act and make an arrest. They said it's another reason to remind people to lock their doors.

Anyone who has information about the recent break-ins is asked to call South Daytona police at 386-322-3030.