2 arrested after allegedly stealing 3 cars

Two men were arrested Tuesday morning after three cars, all left running and unlocked by their owners, were stolen in the Airport Road area — one of them twice.Lenox Lacor, 28 and Danny Maxfield, 36 were arrested Tuesday morning after they allegedly crashed a stolen car they were driving into a minivan on Douglas Drive off of Airport Road.Deputies initially responded to a stolen vehicle report in the 1600 block of Airport Road. The call about a red sedan came in at 6:31 a.m.“While we're there, we get another report” of a stolen car, Deputy Dean Williams said. The other vehicle was a silver Dodge Stratus on Ashby Court, three blocks away from Airport Road, off of Menlo Drive.Williams said the red sedan was found, and shortly thereafter officers got a report of a third stolen vehicle, a black Jeep Cherokee, on Modoc Court, a block away from the other stolen vehicles.Deputies found the Silver Stratus, without its keys, left where the Jeep was stolen. The suspects apparently wanted to upgrade their ride repeatedly, Williams said.The owner of the Stratus walked over to his car but left for about 10 minutes — returning to find it stolen again.“We're all in the area,” Williams said, adding that another deputy spotted the Stratus, turning directly in front of the officer.Its tires screeching, the Stratus turned left onto Douglas Drive from Airport Road and crashed into the side of a parked white minivan. The driver and passenger jumped out and ran, but were caught within a few minutes by pursuing officers. The passenger ran into an apartment building on Menlo Drive, and was seen by the building manager who flagged down deputies.“When deputies pulled up, I told them a suspicious guy ran into (the apartment unit,)” building manager James Ackerman said.All three vehicles have been recovered, although at least one suffered moderate damage. Numerous sets of keys to other vehicles stolen in recent days in the area were found in the silver Stratus, Sheriff Ken Furlong said.Unattended cars left running with the keys in become easy targets for theft, Furlong said. Typically house keys are on key chains, meaning a would-be car thief has an easy way to become a would-be burglar.“You're giving bad guys access not only to your car but also to your house,” Furlong said.In addition, garage door openers are fair game for thieves.“In residential areas, you think you're immune. But you're not. You're targets,” he said.WHAT YOU CAN DOThe sheriff's office advises residents should never leave their cars running and unattended. The vehicles are extremely easy theft targets and often allow future access to one's home.