FIVE SUSPECTED IN WAVE OF VEHICLE BURGLARIES.

Byline: Holly Edwards Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA - Four adults and one juvenile have been arrested in connection with the rash of more than 100 vehicle burglaries in the city in recent weeks, officials said Thursday.

Santa Clarita sheriff's officials believe others are involved in the break-ins, and would not release the names of those arrested, saying it could jeopardize further investigation.

``There are several different groups involved with the thefts and some gang affiliations,'' said Detective Dennis Blackstock, lead investigator in the case.

``It's not unusual to have one (dozen) or two dozen vehicle burglaries in a month, but we're having a rash of them now, and the numbers are still escalating,'' Blackstock said about the thefts of stereos, cell phones and other items from parked cars.

The five arrests were made on different dates within the past two weeks, said Blackstock.

The four adults remained in custody Thursday with bail set at $50,000 each, Blackstock said.

Blackstock said releasing the names of those arrested could not only jeopardize the ongoing investigation, but also the recovery of stolen property.

On Thursday, two men were detained by sheriff's deputies on suspicion of being involved in the burglaries, but they were later released, Blackstock said.

Authorities began to notice a sharp increase in the number of burglaries from vehicles after Jan. 21 and have seen the numbers steadily increase since them.

While a small amount of stolen property - primarily stereo equipment, cell phones and backpacks - has been recovered, Blackstock said officials still don't know what happened to the bulk of the missing property.