Kawabunga! Burglars Ride a Crime Wave at Springwood Apartments

For the second time in less than a month, burglars ransacked several cars parked in the same apartment complex on the Los Altos-Cupertino border early Wednesday morning.

They weren't exactly small items, either.

Among the things taken from the Springwood Apartments on Homestead Court Wednesday morning were golf clubs and a longboard.

, where residents lost a GPS device, car stereo and an iPad, among other things. Los Altos Police Sgt. Scott McCrossin said it is not yet known if the two events were connected.

McCrossin estimated that about eight or nine cars were burglarized Wednesday, the first of which was discovered at 2:30 a.m. after a resident made a 911 call. By 10:44 a.m., police also recovered a stolen Honda car from San Jose that had been dumped at the apartment complex. A resident subsequently reported that his 2000 Toyota Camry was stolen that night, presumably by the burglars, after dumping the other car, which is a common pattern, McCrossin said.

In one case, a car's side window was smashed, a vehicle emergency kit removed, and the garage's remote control was taken. 

McCrossin said police have recovered physical evidence in the cars and the cases are all open. He believes that multiple suspects are involved. "It would be difficult for one person to do all this," McCrossin said. 

While it's not known if the two cases are related, the Springwood apartment management has been actively working to address the vulnerabilities of the complex. "I've been impressed with the level of measures the management taken," said McCrossin, who met with residents whose cars were burglarized Wednesday.