Report of another smash and grab incident has taken place in North Royalton. This is the ninth incident reported since the beginning of the year.
A smash and grab is a type of burglary that involves smashing a window or a showcase in a store, grabbing valuables, and then making a quick getaway, without being concerned for setting off alarms or creating noise.
At Heasley Field on the evening of Thursday, May 19, several cars had their windows smashed and purses were taken, according to North Royalton Police Chief Keith Tarase. The owners of the vehicles were at the fields, watching soccer games that evening. At the time of the writing of this article, reports of credit cards were used in Broadview Heights at the Dollar General about forty-five minutes before the crime was even reported. Police got the call about 7:30 p.m. and the credit card was used about 6:45 p.m., where two black males purchased about $500 in gift cards. Tarase said that they tried to use the cards a second time, but the transaction was declined. Both missing purses were found in the dumpster next to the Dollar General. Keys and a phone were still in one purse, but all credit cards were removed
According to Tarase, there have been nine reported incidents of items being stolen from vehicles from January 1, to May 23, 2022. “Of those nine incidents, three vehicles have had their windows smashed during the theft,” said Tarase. “One was in the Metroparks, near West 130 Street, on May 8 and the other two at Heasley Field on May 19.” In March, the North Royalton Police Department reported a high number of vehicle break-ins in the southwestern part of the city. According to Chief Tarase, most of the incidents took place in developments in that area and all of the vehicles were unlocked. Items that were taken were primarily purses and money.
“Even though we live in a safe city, we still have elements from outside to commit theft. Don’t leave valuables visible inside the car, even if you are outside and think you will be out only for a short period of time,” noted Tarase. He added that although there is no one fool-proof way to protect against being robbed, he stressed that “the more difficult you make it for them to steal your belongings, the less likely they are to break in. They only go for the easily accessible items.”

By GLORIA PLEVA KACIK
Contributing Writer