At least 20 vehicles targeted by thieves in Lone Tree complexes

It was 9:45 p.m. Sunday when the thieves struck. Dressed to hide their identities and using a stolen Kia Sportage for a getaway, they hit 20 cars that were unlocked and believed to be easier to get into. 

The break-ins did not appear to be widely known by residents, "I had no idea that was going on. I have a private garage. So I had no clue what was going on."

His complex, the Retreat, was hit as well as the Cortland just across Park Meadows Drive. Douglas County Sheriff Darren Weekly sees no specific reason for the locations hit. 

"Anywhere that there is a large group of vehicles. They are a potential target in a parking lot, whether a parking garage in an apartment complex, the light rail, the mall."

Just down the block is the RTD Lone Tree station where two suspected car thieves were shot to death by deputies last year who were fired upon first.  

Residents in Douglas County are being warned to set their car alarms and to not leave valuables inside.

Another resident of the retreat remarked, "I've often had a fear of that sort of thing happening to me so I don't leave things in my car."

On this night, the cars targeted appeared to be Hondas and Hyundais, thieves plugging the locks.

A device called a Jimmie Jammer is sold on the Internet and designed to prevent thieves from getting inside the door. 

That stolen Kia Sportage used by the thieves remains at large. Investigators help to gather DNA to identify the thieves once the vehicle is located. Investigators help to gather DNA to identify the thieves once the vehicle is located.