King of Prussia apartment complex sees spike in car thefts after 3 vehicles stolen in a month
KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa. (CBS) -- A string of car thefts is leaving residents in King of Prussia concerned.
"We can't even peacefully sleep," Sampath Goud Nallavelli said. "Every day we have to worry about the car."
Neighbors at Gulph Mills Village Apartments are worried they'll wake up to their cars gone after police said three vehicles were stolen at the complex within the last month.
"I was the first guy who experienced this then a lot of thefts happened," Ramakrishna Jamulapurapu said.
Jamulapurapu said his brand new Honda CRV was stolen at the end of March.
"I came out and realized that my car is not there," he said. "I was surprised."
He would park it in a specific area so that he could see the car from his apartment's balcony.
But he's not the only victim.
According to police, two other neighbors in the same complex also had their cars stolen.
Sampath Goud Nallavelli said his tires were stolen first. A couple of weeks later, at the beginning of April, someone stole his whole car.
"This is sad," Nallavelli said.
This isn't just happening in one place. The Upper Merion Township Police Department said one car was stolen at the neighboring Kingswood Apartments and Townhomes.
Off camera, residents said they're also worried.
"It's really unfortunate," Jamulapurapu said.
CBS News Philadelphia did reach out to both property management companies but haven't heard back.
According to the Upper Merion Township Police Department, Hondas are specifically being targeted.
They said, that in just minutes the thief was cloning key fobs and using software to break in.
"They took hardly five minutes to steal my car, so I don't know if they have some software or something like that," Nallavelli said.
Police said they're investigating the software while working with the apartment complexes to address security concerns.
If you have a newer Honda, police suggest you subscribe to the car company's tracking service, buy a device to lock the steering wheel, place Apple Air Tags inside and report any suspicious activity.
"It's tough, not for me, like for the entire community," Nallavelli said.
In the meantime, those in the community hope there aren't any more victims.
