Chief of Police Dennis Darby said investigators are working several auto burglary cases after a Batesville neighborhood was targeted by thieves Thursday night.

Darby said officers began getting reports of vehicle break-ins early Friday morning from residents of Pine Lane, a street that runs from Trianon St. to Dettor St.

Darby said most of the reports were from residents who said their vehicles were unlocked. A variety of personal belongings were stolen, including firearms.

“We can’t stress enough that you need to keep your vehicles locked especially if you leave valuables in there,”Darby said. “We get lucky sometimes and are able to recover some guns and things when people get arrested in other cities, if they have their serial numbers, but the best thing is just keep everything locked up.”

A series of auto burglaries in west Batesville frustrated police for months late last year, but those type crimes had been reported less over the last couple months until Friday morning.

Darby said it is likely the thieves picked Pine Lane at random and were probably in the neighborhood for only a few minutes. He said investigators are looking at residential security camera footage from the neighborhood and hope to have identifications of the perpetrators or their vehicles from that information.