AUSTINTOWN — Several township residents have been victims of vehicle thefts or break-ins in recent weeks. Police say it’s just the most recent rash in a cycle that has vexed Austintown for more than a year.

Austintown police detective Lt. Shawn Hevener said the department has dealt with more than 40 vehicle thefts, attempted thefts or break-ins since August 2022.

“It just comes in spurts. We will be good for a few weeks and then have two to four in a day or so,” he said. Hevener said the thieves target Kia and Hyundai models.

He said Kias and Hyundais are targeted because there are videos all over the internet showing how to exploit security features of those particular vehicles. Hyundai is the parent company of Kia Motors.

There have been eight incidents dating back to just after 12 a.m. Sept. 24, with the theft of a Hyundai Elantra from a home on Pembrook Place. That day, police took five reports of thefts or attempted thefts.

The most recent incident was reported at the bottom of North Raccoon Road on Sept. 29, when a Chevy Malibu was stolen. Every other incident has involved a Kia model.

On Sept. 26, two Kias were reported stolen within seven minutes of each other from approximately the same block of South Raccoon Road, and another from the same area on Sept. 24.

Hevener said there are “dozens of people involved,” meaning the suspects are usually teenage boys (ages 13 to 17) who often steal the cars just for a joyride.

“They keep them in abandoned garages when they aren’t using them or hide them in other ways, and, once they are recovered they just go steal another one,” he said.

The Vindicator last month reported on a long string of vehicle break-ins and thefts that have troubled Boardman residents for months, although the Boardman thieves seem less discriminating about what vehicles they target.

Boardman police have made some arrests of local suspects, but Boardman police Sgt. Glenn Patton said then that investigators also are aware of activity from larger, more professional operations like the “Felony Lane Gang.”

That group originated in Florida and has antagonized car owners up and down the East Coast and as far west as Illinois. Patton said the group becomes more active in Ohio in September and October. They tend to target vehicles driven by mothers and other women because of how the enterprise operates.

The men in the group will commit the thefts by breaking into vehicles and stealing purses. They steal checks, credit cards and identification, and then have the women in the group go to different banks to cash fraudulent checks for thousands of dollars at the drive-thru window.

The women usually use the lane farthest from the drive-thru window to minimize the chances of being identified and that far lane has become known as the “felony lane,” hence the group’s nickname.

The frequency of Kia and Hyundai thefts also has given rise to a nickname for the thieves on social media: “Kia Boys.”

Make and model aside, Hevener said most local departments are dealing with generally similar problems and have been working together. However, he said there is only so much police can do to prevent the thefts.

“Bottom line, the best thing you can tell people is to buy a steering wheel locking device like a Club, that way the criminals can’t drive the car,” he said.

dpompili@vindy.com