Troy police reported Tuesday that they are investigating eight incidents of vehicle break-ins in the County Club area that occurred between 10 p.m. Monday to 7 a.m. Tuesday.

“Some of these vehicles had been left unsecured and some had forced entry, windows broken in,” said Troy Police Chief Randall Barr.

A variety of items were stolen from the vehicles, including three handguns.

Resident Mike Kreis, whose truck was stolen just months ago from the area.

“The neighborhood was like a candy store for thieves,” Kreis said. “From what we could tell (from video footage), they came by my house a little after midnight walking with flashlights and checking vehicles. They were in the neighborhood for at least two hours. But what do you do? You’re asleep.”

Kreis said he feels like the theft problem has increased in the area over the last three years, in part because of the number of homes and the easy access to the highway.

“You can get your stuff and hit (Alabama Highway) 167 and you’re gone,” Kreis said. “But there are only three points of entry and exit, so maybe we need cameras on those points so we can see who’s going in and out, and get tag numbers to track these people down.”

Council President Marcus Paramore, who lives in the neighborhood, said he is working with police to provide more patrols not just of Country Club Drive, but all neighborhoods after hours.

“I know our police are doing a wonderful job and that they’re working to catch whoever was doing this,” Paramore said. “If we can beef up some patrols in some of our neighborhoods and in the evenings to curb some of this petty crime that’s going on, we need to send a message in Troy that we’re not going to tolerate it.”

Barr said extra patrols will be added for the area, but that residents need to be on alert as the thieves could hit a totally different area. The best cure, he said, is prevention.

“Always lock your car, and don’t leave anything valuable in plain sight,” Barr said. “If you keep a firearm in your vehicle, bring it inside when you get home at night.”

Barr said intel from the residents is very important in these cases.

“Nobody knows the neighborhood like the people who live there,” Barr said. “I would ask anyone who lives in this neighborhood that has video access, cameras that record or whatever, check them in that timeframe and if you see anything even remotely suspicious, call us so we can review that and maybe get these people identified.”

The burglaries remain under investigation. Anyone with any information related to the burglaries is asked to call the police at 334-566-0500.