Smash and Grab Scheme Strikes Wilton

If you're parked in the YMCA's lot, perhaps it's no surprise to find your car's window smashed. There are some strong Little Leaguers in Wilton, after all.

But on June 9, the smashed windows in the Y and Wilton High School parking lots were not from game-winning hits but, instead, possibly linked to a series of smash-and-grab robberies in Wilton and Norwalk.

According to police, four separate vehicles had front windows broken and purses stolen out of them between 4:15 and 5:30 p.m. last Wednesday. Three of the vehicles were parked at the high school and another at the Y.

On Thursday morning, Wilton police discovered a female's handbag along School Road and, by tracking some of the contents, they determined it belonged to a Norwalk resident whose vehicle had also been broken into on the June 9 around 3:30 p.m. in similar fashion.

"We certainly feel there is a connection between finding her handbag here in Wilton and our four burglaries that happened here," said Wilton Police Lieutenant Don Wakeman. "We've been in contact with the Norwalk Police Department and the victim from Norwalk thought that there were a lot of other vehicles there that had been broken into."

A total of $125 in cash and numerous credit cards and personal effects were among the contents of the purses stolen in Wilton.

"I think in all cases, the purses were left in full view," Wakeman said, adding that residents should always be careful to conceal valuables in their vehicles, even if the vehicles are locked.