Nearly 50 car break-ins have been reported to the Covington Police Department over the past few days at a number of residences in the area of Old Monticello and Monticello streets.

CPD Capt. Ken Malcom said Tuesday that the police department has received a total of 46 entering auto reports, with a number of personal items stolen from vehicles left unlocked.

Victims at homes on Pinecrest Drive, Monticello Street, Old Monticello Street, Woodland Avenue, Legion Drive, King Street, Town Branch Court, Dorchester Drive, Brookhaven Drive and several other streets within the city limits reported their vehicles were entered between Friday and Monday. A number of the thefts reportedly happened overnight Saturday and Sunday.

One of the first reports came Friday around 6:30 a.m., when a woman at a David Circle residence told an officer that several of her belongings went missing from her 2002 Honda Accord, which was parked in the carport at the home. The theft reportedly happened between Thursday night and Friday morning.

Items reportedly stolen from vehicles during the weekend included cash, checkbooks, electronics, sunglasses and car owner’s manuals. However, in some cases, victims reported their cars were only rummaged through and nothing was missing.

According to reports, several items were found just houses away from where they were stolen.

A woman reportedly turned in a checkbook to the CPD Sunday after she found it on Legion Drive. In another case, two pairs of a woman’s designer sunglasses were found in a sewer drain near her home. And Monday morning, a CPD officer patrolling on foot in the Dorchester subdivision found a black box, containing pieces of a clarinet, which was collected for fingerprinting.

In addition to the car break-ins, two people at residences on King Street told police they heard someone outside of their homes early Sunday.

According to reports, a woman said around 2 a.m., she heard someone knock on her bedroom window, but she said when she got up and looked around outside, she didn’t see anyone. A man who lived down the street reported that he heard someone knocking at his door around 2:30 a.m.

"He heard approximately 10 knocks, then a short time later another set of knocks," an officer reported. "He did not see anyone on his property or near the house following the second set of knocks."

In response to the break-ins, a message posted on the Covington Police Department’s Facebook page reminded citizens to lock their vehicles and remove valuables. In addition, Capt. Malcom said if anyone hears or sees suspicious activity, he or she should call police.

"We have detectives assigned to the case, and it is a very active investigation. We are working very hard, utilizing all of the resources we have at our disposal, to hopefully bring this case to a very quick conclusion," Malcom said.

"We are asking that (members of) the community do what they can to prevent this from occurring to them, by taking all of their valuables out of their vehicles at night and making sure they secure their vehicles."

In addition, Malcom said, the police department is working with neighborhood watch organizations to communicate to their members the importance of securing vehicles.

He also explained that "suspicious activity" could include someone’s dog barking out of the ordinary.

"In some of the cases where the vehicles have been entered, victims have reported hearing their dogs become agitated at something or someone. Animal owners know their dogs’ barks. They know when they are just barking, and when they are barking at someone. If they hear something, (they should) call 911 and give us the opportunity to respond to the area and check it out."

"Sometimes, we feel like people do not want to bother us, or they don’t think it’s an emergency and they don’t make a phone call. In situations like this, that type of 911 call may give us the break that we need to solve this."

Malcom said Detectives Chip Shirah and Brent Fuesting are assigned to this case.

Anyone with information on any of the cases or who might have been a victim should call the police department at 770-786-7605.