It was a string of crimes that kept police working into the early morning hours.

Two men are charged with five counts of grand larceny for stealing and crashing five vehicles, one right after another, in Augusta County.

It began in Staunton, spread throughout Augusta County, and finally concluded with the Virginia State Police.

Police say 29-year-old Matt Carr and 21-year-old Christopher Helmick began their crime spree just two blocks down from their homes on Hillcrest Drive in Staunton.

They say the men stole the first car from a garage on Hillcrest Drive and only traveled about two blocks before crashing the car into a snow bank.

Carr and Helmick then stole a truck and crashed it near Gypsy Hill Park. Next, they stole a van that police say they wrecked in Mount Solon.

The next vehicle wrecked on the 5700 block of Spring Hill Road, and the fifth vehicle was stolen from the 6000 block of Spring Hill Road and crashed on Scenic Highway, where the suspects were arrested by state police.

Bill Binion, the first victim in this crime spree, did not even realize his car had been stolen until police knocked on his door. He had not yet closed his garage for the night.

"For some reason or other, I was busy and didn't get it done, and now I wish I had," says Binion.

Binion also left his keys in the car, which is something Stauntion Police Officer Lisa Klein wants people to remember not to do.

"They were unlocked, they had valuables in them. One of the vehicles actually had a gun and a laptop in it, and they left their keys in the car," says Klein.

Leaving keys in the car is a bad habit that Binion said he is going to break.

"It's just a habit, but no more," says Binion.

Klein stresses that, although Staunton is a safe area, people should not leave cars unlocked, especially with valuables inside.

Klein also said that if a person must keep a spare set of keys in the car, they should not leave them in plain sight.