SOUTH PORTLAND – A spate of car burglaries has hit South Portland and Cape Elizabeth, with 23 break-ins reported last week. Multiple thieves are suspected to be at large, say police, and, while most items taken were of the random-left-in-car variety, one burglar managed to score a small-caliber handgun from an unlocked vehicle at the Maine Mall.

In South Portland, the 14 car burglaries reported since Thursday, Jan. 23, brings the total for the month to 19. That’s high, but not a complete outlier, said police department spokesman Lt. Frank Clark, considering that there were 12 car burglaries reported in January 2012. Still, the first month of the year is typically the least active for this type of crime.

The recent rash of car burglaries began on Thursday, Jan. 23, when there were six break-ins reported within a seven-block area of South Portland, between Cottage Road and Ocean Street. The first two reports came in shortly before 6 a.m. on the 100 block of Providence Avenue. Additional reports were filed at 8:30 a.m. on Bellaire Road, 10:30 a.m. on Walnut Street, 5:15 p.m. on Beaufort Street and 6:30 p.m. on O’Neil Street.

Although reported throughout the day, police believe the incidents are related, possibly occurring the previous evening.

“Typically, if something like this happens within the same vicinity, they are likely to be related,” said Janet Vangeli, a crime analyst for the South Portland Police Department, on Wednesday.

According to Clark, items missing included CDs, clothing, sunglasses, backpack, tools, iPods, jewelry, small amounts of cash and loose change.

“It was quite an assort of items – pretty much anything you can imagine anyone would leave in a vehicle, with at least one thing missing from each one,” said Clark.

Thursday’s rash of car burglaries was followed by another round on Friday, Jan. 24, when five cars where broken into at around 9 p.m. in the parking lot of the Cinemagic Grand movie theater at 333 Clarks Pond Parkway.

In each case, a car window was smashed, leading police to believe that these break-ins may have been the work of a different burglar.

According to Vangeli, items stolen at the movie theater lot included two GPS units, a Macbook computer and an iPad, in addition to an undetermined amount of spare change. One car owner also reported the theft of a bag of licorice.

In Cape Elizabeth, one car burglary was reported just before midnight on Sunday, Jan. 26. In that case, the Scott Dyer Road homeowner interrupted the burglar, who fled on foot.

“It was a very brief encounter. The description isn’t much to go on,” said Edward Hunt, reporting clerk for the Cape Elizabeth Police Department, on Wednesday.

The suspect, said Hunt, was described as “a white male, approximately 6 feet tall, with a slim build and a hooded sweatshirt, about 21 years old.”

That burglary report was followed by eight more reported on Monday, Jan. 27, starting at about 4:30 a.m., with one report filed on Murray Drive, two on Mitchell Road, two in the Elizabeth Park neighborhood off Scott Dyer Road, and three on Ocean House Road.

All of the break-ins are believed to have happened Sunday evening, said Hunt, possibly before the Scott Dyer Road incident.

“We’re assuming they all happened Sunday evening, but they were not reported until people got up and got ready to go to work the next day,” said Hunt.

All of the burglaries are thought to be related, said Hunt, given the thief’s modus operandi. In each case, glove boxes and center consoles were opened, with their contents strewn about the vehicle.

More recently in South Portland, a car burglary was reported on Monday, Jan. 27, that is believed to have occurred the previous evening. In that case the burglar made off with an iPod and the ubiquitous “small amount of cash.”

The Maine Mall burglary happened during the day on Tuesday, Jan. 28. Because that case remains under active investigation, Clark declined to disclose the make and model of either the handgun or the vehicle.

“I won’t get into the details in case detectives have come up with a suspect and want to do an interview,” said Clark.

However, Clark said, and Hunt readily agreed, that the lesson in the recent spate of burglaries is that people should remember to lock their doors.

Confidential tips may be left with the South Portland Police Department by emailing sppdtips@southportland.org, or calling 347-4100. The anonymous “crime line” for the Cape Elizabeth Police Department is 767-2273.