In mid-April someone was harvesting items out of a slew of garden sheds across town. On April 16 and 19, the garden sheds of eight different locations were broken into and mainly landscaping equipment was stolen. The list of locations is as follows:
April 16:
Boston Road, leaf blower
Boston Road, weed whacker, lawn edger and leaf blower
Boston Road, hand tools and leaf blower
April 19:
Royalwood Road, weed whacker and bike
Lodge Drive, lawn mower
Lodge Drive, lawn mower, snow blower, weed whacker, edger, grill
Lodge Drive, snow blower
Royalwood Road, lawnmower and weed whacker
Although the sheds were locked, they were all entered after the lock was sawed off. According to North Royalton Detective David Loeding, the incidents are thought to have taken place after sundown. At the time of this writing, there are no arrests that have been made.

North Royalton is not alone when it comes to crime sprees. It is said that someone is burglarized every fifteen minutes. During that same time frame, residents in Strongsville were affected when items were stolen from more than nine vehicles, plus a burglary took place when a garage door opener was used to gain entry into a home.
The following are some tips to make your house and car less vulnerable:
• Keep your garage door closed and locked.
• Make your home look occupied, by leaving lights on, or utilize automatic timers.
• Install dead bolts on outside doors.
• Store items out of sight.
• Place curtains on garage and basement windows.
• Have adequate exterior lighting. A motion-sensitive light is recommended for backyards.
• Trim trees and shrubs so that they cannot be used as hiding places for intruders.
• Make sure your door hinges are on the inside.
• Install a home alarm system and use it! Many burglars will not be deterred by a window sticker or sign indicating that the home has an alarm system.
• Don’t hide keys under doormats, flowerpots, mailboxes.
• Mark your valuables with your driver’s license number with an engraver. This makes it more difficult for a burglar to dispose of and easier to recover.
To avoid car break-ins:
• Lock your car at all times
• Do not leave the garage door opener in plain sight.
• Do not leave keys in the vehicle.
• Never leave valuables in plain sight.
• Make sure windows and sunroof are closed.
• Do not place valuable items in your car or truck in public view.
Loeding notes that although there is no one fool-proof way to protect against being robbed, he stressed that the more difficult you make it for the burglar, the less likely the burglar will choose your house or car to rob.