ALBEMARLE COUNTY, Va. (CBS19 NEWS) -- The Albemarle County Police Department says violent crime is down compared to a three-year average from 2019-2021, but there have been more shootings and vehicle thefts this year.

On Thursday, officials provided an overview of the status of an investigation into a series of connected criminal incidents that have taken place over the past several months.

They also discussed how officers collect and process evidence in order to place charges against any people responsible for criminal activity.

According to a release, there has been an increase in shootings and car thefts between Barracks Road and Rio Road since May of this year.

ACPD reports that it has been working with other agencies to investigate these incidents, and 10 people have been arrested. Of those people, three are adults.

On Oct. 20, 19-year-old Meleak Domorion Clark of Farmville was arrested on three counts of use or display of a firearm in the commission of a felony, three counts of aggravated malicious wounding, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, shooting from vehicles so as to endanger others, and discharging firearms or missiles within or at a building or dwelling house.

On Oct. 24, 19-year-old Jalonnie Antonio Henson of Charlottesville was arrested on the same charges.

And then on Nov. 3, 18-year-old Devontae Markel Johnson of Albemarle County was also arrested on these charges.

Charges that have been filed against the juveniles that have been arrested include possession of an automatic weapon, possession of a stolen firearm, and possession of a stolen vehicle.

Police say additional charges are pending for these people and other suspects related to the shootings, but details are not being shared at this time due to the ongoing status of the investigation.

ACPD reports most of the crimes have been linked to several groups of self-identifying gangs, mostly made up of juveniles. More than 50 people associated with these gangs have been identified up to this point.

The middle- and high-school-aged juveniles live in Albemarle County, but their actions and connections have crossed jurisdictional lines into Charlottesville.

Officers are continuing to investigate this series of crimes with assistance from the Charlottesville Police Department, the U.S. Marshals Service, the FBI’s Safe Street Taskforce, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

However, the juvenile justice system is very different from the system for adults, including requiring adjudication within 21 days of detaining a juvenile.

Evidence processing can take longer than 21 days. For example, ballistic evidence at state laboratories is currently taking up to six months.

Such evidence can be critical when it comes to prosecuting crimes.

ACPD is encouraging witnesses to share any information they may have concerning incidents with detectives as their testimony may speed the investigative process up.

Such information can be shared by calling ACPD’s Criminal Investigations Division at (434) 296-5807 or CrimeStoppers at (434) 977-4000 or emailed to [email protected].