Jefferson County deputies find stolen vehicle, stolen property, and multiple guns after residents call in tip for car break-ins

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBRC) - The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department is urging you to lock your car doors and make sure your guns are safely inside your house. This comes after a discovery early Thursday morning in east Jefferson County. Deputies found a stolen car, along with multiple guns, and at least one gun was stolen.

Jefferson County Sheriff’s got a call early this morning from residents that said two people were going around the neighborhood and shining flashlights in car doors. Deputies are still looking for these two suspects.

“We’re just so thankful for the citizens who called and said ‘hey, there’s people walking around with flashlights and they’re looking in vehicles’,” Jefferson County Sheriff’s Lt. Joni Money said.

“I wouldn’t doubt it if they were just patrolling this area, looking for cars,” neighborhood resident Albert J. Rodgers said.

“It really doesn’t kind of surprise me,” neighborhood resident George Chavous said. “People work to have things and to have someone break in and take them, that is pretty bad.”

Lt. Money said the suspects ran before deputies got there, but they did find a stolen abandoned vehicle.

“When they found that vehicle, they found in plain view, firearms laying in the vehicle,” Money said. “It was unlocked and there were even firearms located on the ground around the vehicle. You could have had a kid walking to the bus stop pick those up cause they were on the ground. This could have been a bad, bad situation.”

The car was found to be stolen from the southside of Birmingham. Jefferson County K9′s were able to follow a scent that took them to more stolen items from a Birmingham car break in.

“They were able to track a scent from the vehicle that was located and when they tracked that scent, they were able to come upon some more property that appeared it had been recovered or left their from vehicle break-ins,” Money said.

“It just goes to show you that these individuals are stealing firearms and stealing cars and they aren’t just sticking to the general area, they are branching out,” Truman Fitzgerald with the Birmingham Police Department said.

Truman and Money didn’t share what the other recovered items were, but they were able to link them back to the original owners from a Birmingham Police report.

Lt. Money said they know of at least two vehicle break ins last night, but are expecting more to be reported.

“We know there are going to be people as they woke up this morning, or as they go to their car, they’re going to discover that their car has been gone through,” she said. “Between the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office and Birmingham Police, we are going to be receiving additional reports.”

Both departments stress that the best defense is locking your car door at night.

“Take in your valuables, do not leave firearms in the car,” Lt. Money said. “But, most importantly, make sure that vehicle is locked.”

The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department is still searching for those two suspects and Birmingham Police are investigating the stolen car and other items found.

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