Possible serial burglars target community pools in Northern Virginia
MCLEAN, Va. (FOX 5 DC) -- At least seven community pools were the targets of theft or vandalism late Sunday into Monday, according to police and pool managers.
The crime spree spanned Fairfax and Arlington counties, yet police have not been able to connect all seven cases to the same set of suspects.
Someone broke into pools at the Hamlet Swim and Tennis Club, Cardinal Hill Swim and Racquet Club, Tuckahoe Recreation Club, Kent Gardens Recreation Club, Great Falls Swim and Tennis Club, Chesterbrook Swim and Tennis Club and Overlee Community Association.
Managers at the Great Falls Swim and Tennis Club say suspects stole cash from a snackbar register, threw a register and furniture into the pool and even defecated in the water, which forced the pool to shut down for several hours Monday.
Fairfax County Police said it was investigating three of the reports, while Arlington County police responded to the Overlee pool.
Rob Castorri, general manager of the Tuckahoe Recreation Club, says his pool facility was spared any damage or theft, but it appears burglars took cash register keys.
"Thank God no one got hurt, even [the suspects] and certainly no one at the clubs that I've heard of. It's just financial theft and again nuisance," Castorri said.
A manager told FOX 5 thieves stole several thousand dollars from a safe at the Hamlet pool.
Castorri says police have surveillance video from several of the break-ins but have declined to release it as they investigate.