Several homeowners in the Alcovy Crossing subdivision called the Newton County Sheriff's Office to report their vehicles being broken into on Saturday morning between 1 a.m. and 6 a.m.

According to reports from the sheriff's office, someone broke into at least 12 vehicles and took money and personal belongings from residents in the neighborhood. Some of those items included iPads, iPods, weapons and purses. One man even reported that his 2000 Chevrolet Silverado was stolen out of his driveway.

NCSO spokesman 1st Lt. Mark Mitchell said calls started coming in early Saturday morning as people started waking up and realizing things were missing from their cars. He said this gave them reason to believe the cases were related.

"We're investigating them as they're all being related because they're all in the same subdivision on the same date, same location and around the same time," Mitchell said. "We have investigators currently in the field working trying to run down leads to see who is responsible for this."

Mitchell said most vehicles were broken into by force, but other vehicles were left unlocked. Mitchell said the sheriff's office is still working to find out the method used to get into the vehicles, but he urged residents to lock their car doors at all times.

"We tell citizens not to keep their personal items such as purses and weapons in their vehicles overnight," he said. "If people hear noises in the middle of the night or even a dog barking, get up and call 911 immediately."