ROANOKE TIMES

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, December 22, 1993                   TAG: 9312230297
SECTION: CURRENT                    PAGE: NRV9   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: KATHY LOAN STAFF WRITER|
DATELINE: PULASKI                                 LENGTH: Medium


AFTER WEEKEND THEFTS, POLICE URGING RESIDENTS TO LOCK UP

Weekend thefts in Pulaski illustrate the need for folks to lock their homes and cars, town police say.

Savvy - and not so savvy - thieves took advantage of unlocked doors to make off with rifles, shotguns, a bass guitar and even a car.

Sgt. Ed Hogston of the Pulaski Police Department said it's important for people to remember to lock their homes and cars, especially during the holiday season. Thieves are taking items to use as gifts for others or selling them to make money for themselves.

``If it's unlocked, they're going to go through it and if it's anything of value, they're going to get it,'' Hogston said.

These items were reported stolen over the weekend in Pulaski:

Five rifles and shotguns from a home in the 100 block of 10th Street. Taken were two .22-caliber single-shot bolt action rifles; a .410-caliber single-shot shotgun; a 20-gauge single-shot shotgun; and a .30-.30 caliber lever action rifle. A sleeping bag also was stolen. A door had been left unlocked at the house, Hogston said.

A bass guitar and carrying case, worth about $500, from a car parked in the 1000 block of Forest Hill Drive. The car's doors had been left unlocked, Hogston said.

A car that had run out of gas. Dana Treadaway, who was visiting Pulaski County from Charlotte, reported her car missing on Sunday afternoon. Treadaway had left her keys in the car and someone apparently got gas and left with the 1985 Buick. But Sunday night, Pulaski police recovered the car after stopping a motorist at U.S. 99 and Bob White Boulevard. Hogston said William Odell Gravley of Runion Trailer Park in Pulaski has been charged with stealing the car and with driving under the influence.

Hogston said police also received a report of an emergency radio-flashlight being taken from a car.

He cautioned people to lock their doors or to keep valuables in car trunks while shopping or visiting.



 by CNB