Police investigating string of car break-ins at area daycare centers

A trumpet and backpack stolen from a vehicle at one metro area daycare facility last week was recovered that same day from a car parked outside another child care center, police said.

Coincidence? Not likely, say investigators, noting a possible link to a recent string of auto break-ins in Cobb County.

The trumpet and backpack belonging to Andrew Kornylak’s son was pilfered from his vehicle parked outside the Sunshine House in DeKalb County.

“I thought I locked the car,” Kornylak told Channel 2 Action News. The vehicle was left unattended for about 10 minutes — more than enough time for the suspects to secure the valuables.

Less than one hour later, Gwinnett County police responded to a suspicious vehicle call from Kids ‘R’ Kids in Tucker, about seven miles from the Sunshine House.

A rental car, allegedly stolen, had been disabled through a LoJack system, according to the Gwinnett police incident report. The manager of Cash Rentals told officers he had been contacted by a detective regarding that same vehicle, wanted in connection with the auto thefts in Cobb.

The driver, Jacquelyne Ballard, told the Gwinnett officer she was not the only person who used the car. Ballard consented to a search, the report states, which turned up the backpack and trumpet. The officer also discovered a driver’s license allegedly stolen from a vehicle in Cobb last October.