The City of Cordele has been consumed with random car thefts all over town.

Since June 1st Cordele has had 8 car thefts. The odd thing about these thefts has been, all of them have involved people leaving keys in their cars.

In many cases the autos were returned  to the area of the theft and left. On a few occasions some of the autos were wrecked.

The Cordele Police Department has been vigorously investigating this rash of thefts but no arrests have been made as yet.

Car thefts in the United States in 2012 accounted for 4.3 billion dollars in losses. In the State of Georgia there are several crimes related to car theft, these would include. Entering and Auto, Hijacking a motor vehicle, joyriding/ criminal trespass, theft by taking, theft by receiving stolen property and others. There are unique elements to each crime and they can involve rather stiff criminal penalties, especially if multiple charges apply. The penalties can range from a misdemeanor 12 month sentence and $1000.00 fine or up to 20 years in prison.

If you have information about these recent thefts please contact the Cordele Police Department  (229) 273-3102.