Southern Geraldton suburbs targeted by thieves in recent spate of burglaries

Thieves have targeted southern Geraldton suburbs in recent days, with police investigating a spate of burglaries over the past fortnight. From February 3-7, five homes in Mt Tarcoola and Tarcoola Beach were broken into, with the offenders taking valuable items including a 12-gauge shotgun on Saturday. Geraldton officer-in-charge Sen. Sgt Jason Scragg said the recent spate was “concerning” but police were working hard to identify those responsible. He urged anyone who may have CCTV cameras to check their footage. “Unfortunately in the early hours of the morning we’ve had some people skulking around those areas,” he said. Sen. Sgt Scragg said the burglaries all occurred between 1am and 6am, sometimes while residents were sleeping, while at other times the offenders targeted vacant homes. “If you see anything, we’d really like to know about it. It might be the missing piece of the puzzle to help us identify the perpetrators,” he said. A shotgun was stolen from a Kent Street property in Tarcoola Beach between 8pm on Saturday, February 6, and 1.30am the following day. It’s believed the burglary was random and the gun was taken “by chance” along with other items, including a PlayStation. The shotgun was licensed and locked in a gun safe but the intruder found the key. No ammunition was taken from the house. In unrelated incidents, four people were apprehended on Wednesday night within hours of alleged burglaries. A 35-year-old man was charged with burglary after he allegedly used a stolen credit card from a Marine Terrace home at a service station. Two 16-year-olds and a 14-year-old were also charged with two counts of burglary and one count of attempted burglary in Bluff Point.