Criminals hit Denton, leaving stolen trucks behind and breaking into local businesses

Denton, a village west of Lincoln, is fairly quiet.

The most activity is typically when a train runs through town.

“Not much else going on,” Jill Stewart-Tews, a resident said.

But what happened in the early hours of Wednesday morning has people talking.

“People were shocked,” Stewart-Tews said.

The Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office said two abandoned trucks were found in Denton, one in a driveway the other in the country.

Both were stolen from Lincoln.

Though Captain Ben Houchin said this was just the start of the crime spree.

Stewart-Tews lives in Denton and helps out at the Methodist Church.

Wednesday she got a call from the Sheriff’s Office.

“Saying someone broke into the garage back here and wanted us to check to see if anything was missing,” she said.

The church shed, with a lawn mower and a grill inside, was broken into. Luckily, she said nothing was taken.

Houchin said Little Country Cars, a used car dealership, wasn’t as lucky.

He said a GMC–sierra, laptop, printer, fireworks and more was taken from the business.

This adds up to more than $12,000 lost.

Houchin said the burglars also stopped at the co–op– and tried to get inside, but weren’t successful.

“We believe that it’s highly probably that all of these crimes are related and committed by the same individuals,” Houchin said.

He said they’re working on figuring out what the connection between Lincoln and Denton is, and why the suspects chose the tiny town to drop off the cars.  

“This is the first time we’ve had any major things going on in Denton for quite a while,” Houchin said.

They don’t have any suspects.

If you know anything about these crimes call the Sheriff’s Office at 441-6500.