Saline police are urging residents to lock their vehicles and take valuables indoors after more than a dozen vehicle break-ins were reported within blocks of each other last week.

Police reports show 14 residents found their vehicles rummaged on June 15. Items taken included laptops, GPS devices, jewelry and a wallet. All of the vehicles were unlocked and parked in driveways on Bassett, Calder, Clark, Nichols, Park Place, Sheffield and Spring streets.

In one case, a 51-year-old resident of Park Place said someone entered her home and stole a set of keys. Police believe the intruder entered the garage through a door left partially open for a family pet. The thief or thieves rummaged through the vehicle and found a set of keys to the house, which were used to get inside.

The woman called police after she awoke and found the door leading to her garage open, reports said. The keys are missing, but nothing else was reported stolen.

“People need to keep it locked up in order to not be easy prey for criminals,” Detective Don Lupi said. “These were crimes of opportunity where they went to vehicles scattered throughout the neighborhood until they found the right ones.”

A backpack was reported stolen from a car parked in the 200 block of Clark Street on June 16, and police think it is likely related the other crimes.

Investigators found a pattern as the larceny reports came in throughout the day and believe the crimes occurred mainly between 4-6 a.m., Lupi said.

A caller reported seeing a teenage boy dressed in all black leave a bicycle by a Dumpster in the 100 block of Sheffield and walk down the street at about 5:20 a.m. June 16, reports said. But the caller couldn’t provide a description of the teen.

Several residents were victimized in a similar crime spree last fall when David Lipsitz and Samantha West burglarized vehicles throughout the city in September. The couple targeted unlocked vehicles in poorly-lit areas, Lupi said.

They were caught using stolen credit cards at local stores. West, 22, and Lipsitz, 30, were sentenced to probation and mandatory substance abuse treatment. They are not suspects in this case, Lupi said.

Anyone with information is asked to call Lupi at 734- 429-7911 or e-mail him at dlupi@cityofsaline.org.

Art Aisner is a freelance writer for AnnArbor.com. Reach the news desk at news@annarbor.com or 734-623-2530.