It was only a matter of time before unincorporated Maricopa’s newest neighborhood would be hit with city problems.

Over the weekend, Pinal County sheriff’s deputies responded to an early morning report of two attempted car burglaries, according to PCSO spokesperson Lauren Reimer.

Around 1 a.m. Sunday a resident living near Papago Road and Pecan Woods Boulevard told officers two of their unlocked vehicles appeared “rummaged through.” Nothing was missing, the vehicles were undamaged and the would-be criminals did not appear to leave any evidence behind.

“No suspects at this time,” Reimer told InMaricopa, along with a warning: “We would like to remind everyone to always lock their vehicles and never store valuables in cars, as these are often crimes of opportunity.”

This is the second reported criminal incident to occur in Amarillo Creek. In August, the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office investigated a report of a masked man approaching children waiting at a bus stop at the same intersection.

Amarillo Creek residents on the social networking site Nextdoor yesterday morning were saying they were concerned criminals had “discovered” the new subdivision, which welcomed its first homeowners in October last year. One such resident, Juanita Porter, said “the hood rats have come to our streets.”

Maricopa’s burgled cars lore

But perhaps a neighborhood’s cars getting burgled is just an initiation into the city, especially since last year.

Last June, a 17-year-old car burglar was shot and killed by Maricopa police in Tortosa. Two more alleged car burglars were captured and charged — one had threatened to murder a homeowner when he was confronted.

In February, police arrested a couple of clown mask-wearing teenagers in connection with multiple car burglaries in Maricopa Meadows and Desert Passage. Victims believed the sticky-fingered youths were looking for firearms; they rummaged through glove boxes and center consoles, but would ignore cash left in plain view, according to security footage victims provided to InMaricopa.

A month later, Acacia Crossings was hit in at least one attempted car burglary with security footage documenting teenagers rattling car door handles. And Rancho Mirage saw six vehicles burglarized on one night in August.

The most recent vehicle thefts occurred in September when two Rancho El Dorado residents reported thousands of dollars in tools stolen from work trucks within 24 hours of each other.