APOPKA, Fla. – Residents at the Villas at Errol Estates in Apopka say they are frustrated and feeling unsafe after multiple cars were damaged overnight in what police described as vehicle burglaries.
According to Apopka police, there were multiple vehicle burglaries overnight in the Errol Estates area. In a message shared with residents, the homeowner’s association said several vehicles in Lot A had their windows smashed. The message added that, at this time, it appears no items were taken from the vehicles.
Neighbors told News 6 about 10 cars were affected, with windows smashed and vehicles rummaged through.
Christina Berry said she came outside around 7:30 a.m. to take her daughter to school and found officers in the parking lot.
Berry said her car had been searched through, with items from inside tossed around, but her windows were not broken because the car had been left unlocked.
“My fellow neighbors got the brunt of it because, luckily, I guess my car was unlocked overnight on accident, so they didn’t smash my windows,” Berry said. “But my poor neighbors were not so lucky.”
Berry said this is not the first time residents there have dealt with break-ins.
“It happened last in December. I’ve been a victim before in 2023,” she said. “So this is actually like an ongoing problem in the area.”
Some of the damaged cars were in an overflow lot, but residents said most were hit in the main resident lot, where they say they should feel safe.
Austin Heffernan, a resident who said he helps deal with parking issues in the community, said he had never seen something like this there before.
“It’s the kind of place where I leave my door open when I go to the store and come back and have no fear at all,” Heffernan said. “So this has definitely kind of created a little bit of a stir.”
Berry said she captured Ring camera video around 4:30 a.m. showing someone running away from the lots and gave that video to Apopka police.
She said residents want changes, including cameras and better security.
“We obviously really need cameras,” Berry said. “We should have gotten them a long time ago.”
Police are investigating.