Police only have a grainy image of the white Lexus that drove on to the lot of the Forest Hill Nature Preschool on Bynum Road and then disappeared without a trace, but it didn't take Owner Lavonne Taylor long to discover evidence of the crime it left behind.
"We had a break-in here,” said Taylor, “It was actually a staff member's car and her back passenger window was broken."
Over a 10-day period, police say members of the notorious Felony Lane Gang have struck three different daycares, including one that they hit twice, along with a parking lot at the Ma & Pa Trail in a well-executed crime spree.
"They usually use cars that are from Florida that don't have front tags on them. They tint the windows themselves,” said Major William Davis of the Harford County Sheriff’s Office, “They pull on to those parking lots, they look inside of a car and if they see a purse, they'll smash the window, take the purse and they'll be gone in seconds."
Often the thieves, who have recently committed similar thefts in other states, then use the victims' bank cards and personal checks to cash in further on their crimes.
This mini-crime wave has left targeted businesses on guard.
"Obviously, it's unsettling, because parents will leave their cars running when they come in to pick up and drop off kids," said Taylor.
Warning their parents that there could be far worse things to worry about than stolen purses or cars if they don't keep their guard up.
"We also encourage parents not to leave children in the car, because that's also not a safe practice, but unfortunately sometimes parents think, 'I'm just going to leave this sleeping child here and run in and get another child’, but it creates kind of a dangerous situation if you think there are predators out there that might be hitting different cars... especially breaking windows," added Taylor.
Police say the thieves have also used a brown Lincoln MKT SUV in some of the crimes.
The latest smash and grab happened just two days ago and police say if you see any suspicious activity, you should report it immediately.
