Douglas County Sheriff's deputies look for suspects in recent auto thefts and burglaries

The Douglas County Sheriff's Department is asking for the community's help identifying at least five suspects targeting neighborhoods for crimes of opportunity

They say in early morning of June 5 at least three of them stole a black Jeep Cherokee from an unlocked garage in the Pradera neighborhood near Castle Rock. They then tried to steal a black Audi SUV from a different garage but were unsuccessful.

Not to be defeated, they returned with two more people late that same night and took the Audi then burglarized vehicles in Pradera and a different nearby neighborhood.

The sheriff says the very next night they were back in action.

"We believe the same crew is responsible for a burglary and auto theft the next night in the Centennial Ranch neighborhood," said Douglas County Sheriff Darren Weekly.

He says that night they took a black Cadillac but were spotted by deputies and chased briefly before the chase had to be called off. He says they have since recovered the Audi SUV in Denver and are processing it for clues.

"Even though this pursuit was terminated, it does not mean that we are not going to be able to identify these suspects," he said.

Weekly says most of these crimes were crimes of opportunity so he is advising residents to lock cars and garages and take valuables and garage door openers out of cars parked on the street. Also he says to keep an eye out.

"If you see anybody in your neighborhood especially after hours you don't recognize and they just look suspicious contact us immediately," he said.

He says he thinks these suspects might be dangerous so he wants them caught.

"We believe one if not two of these individuals were armed with handguns and that escalates things certainly for us and we want to make sure to get these guys into custody," he said.

If you have any information about this case contact the Douglas County Sheriff's Department or Metro Denver Crime Stoppers at 720.913.STOP (7867).