Early in the morning on Monday, April 25, Bainbridge Public Safety Officers responded to a call at Precision Auto on East River Road that multiple cars on the lot had been broken into.

“I got a call from the officer that arrived first and asked if I could come out there and process some vehicles,” Investigator Chris Jordan said. “When I first got there, they said they knew they had five or six vehicles broken into.”

Upon further investigation, it was determined that 18 total cars had been broken into and that two of them had been driven. Included in the 18 was a 2007 Toyota 4Runner that reportedly had been broken into and had its dash torn apart in an apparent attempt to steal the touch screen radio display. The burglars also broke a back window on a 2005 Ford Focus.

The cars that the burglars drove were a 2010 Chevrolet Camaro and a 2012 Honda Civic. According to the incident report the Civic sustained damage to its driver side bumper. It appeared that the burglars attempted to crash the car through the gate, which also sustained damage.

“I think they just went on a joyride, from what I understand,” Jordan said.

According to Jordan, investigators followed a lead to a residence on the 1100 block of Vada Rd.

“Good old fashioned police work,” Jordan said. “We got out and interviewed folks. Walked the street and looked in sandy areas for shoe prints. After talking to people and conducting several interviews, we ended up at that residence.”

Dontavious Kinder, 18, was arrested and charged with 18 counts of entering automobile or other motor vehicle with intent to commit theft and three counts of criminal damage to property. The other three who were arrested are minors and will be tried in juvenile court on the same charges.

“We followed the evidence we had there and it lead us to a residence,” Jordan said. “(We) attempted to make contact there and nobody was there, so I went to the high school and picked up one of the guys and brought him back and interviewed him and he admitted to doing it, and told me the other three that was with him. I picked those three up and talked to them and they all admitted to taking part in it.”