Bold Burglars in Peoria, IL

[Trent]

I'm posting these up to spur some thought on general awareness on home security.

Scenario 1 - Guy comes home, finds intruders waiting for him.

http://www.pjstar.com/news/x709246152/Peorian-says-burglars-tied-him-up-tazed-him

PEORIA —

A 27-year-old Peoria man was tied up at gunpoint and tazed while two men burglarized his home and stole his truck early Friday, police said.

The man returned home to the 1900 block of West Albany Avenue at about 2:15 a.m. to find two masked men in his kitchen, according to a Peoria Police Department report. The man said one of the men pointed a handgun at him while the other, armed with a stun gun, tied him up with electrical cord.

Story 2 - Entire family tied up while home is ransacked

http://www.pjstar.com/news/x853685392/Two-gunmen-tie-up-family-ransack-Northwest-Peoria-house

PEORIA —

Police are investigating a home invasion in Northwest Peoria over the weekend that left one man and five children tied up at gunpoint for hours as two robbers ransacked the house.

Authorities were called about 3:30 a.m. Sunday to 6403 N. Devonshire Drive after the resident, Matthew Anderson, 32, said two men had bound him, his four children, ages 4 to 14 years old, and a 10-year-old neighbor who was spending the night.

His wife, Amanda Anderson, 32, who was not home at the time of the incident, said Monday that the two men who woke up her husband with a flashlight and a handgun made off with thousands of dollars worth of electronics and her children’s innocence.

“They used their shoe laces to tie everybody up,” Amanda Anderson said. “Who does that to little kids? ... My 4-year-old thinks everyone is a bad guy now.”

Lots of 'fail' on that second one, especially. If the first clue you have that your home was invaded is waking up with a gun in your face, guess what? It's too late to begin thinking about home security issues, designed to give you early warning, space, and time.

 

[lemaymiami]

Those weren't your standard burglars - they were armed robbers who chose the victim's house as their venue. Guys that do that sort of stuff are extremely dangerous and bad things happen to victims very often in these kind of scenarios.

The press is awful when it comes to describing these sorts of crimes... they regularly describe ordinary burglaries (basic property crime where no victim is present) as "robberies" then describe armed robberies (crime against persons) as burglaries.

Without even reading the reports of each incident you can be pretty sure something specific attracted the robbers to each house or family. Absolutely not your ordinary crime at all.... If there's the slightest hint that there's a specific group doing this sort of stuff it will get a serious combined response from local or state authorities.....

 

[bikerdoc]

In my experience I suspect there is an indirect connection to the victims.

 

[Trent]

Those weren't your standard burglars - they were armed robbers who chose the victim's house as their venue. Guys that do that sort of stuff are extremely dangerous and bad things happen to victims very often in these kind of scenarios.

The press is awful when it comes to describing these sorts of crimes... they regularly describe ordinary burglaries (basic property crime where no victim is present) as "robberies" then describe armed robberies (crime against persons) as burglaries.

Without even reading the reports of each incident you can be pretty sure something specific attracted the robbers to each house or family. Absolutely not your ordinary crime at all.... If there's the slightest hint that there's a specific group doing this sort of stuff it will get a serious combined response from local or state authorities.....

I agree 100%.

Walking in to your house to discover a gun in your face is bad news. You're at a distinct disadvantage from the onset. Most people don't draw their firearm, and proceed to clear the structure, each and every time they come home. There might not BE any indication that someone is inside waiting for you. Bad guy might have parked out of sight, re-closed and locked a jimmied door, etc.

Dogs are a good indicator, if mine don't poke their heads in the window waiting for me, I know there's something "not right."

The second incident, where the guy woke up with a gun in his face.

It's easy to "relax" your guard when you have visitors. (In the article it said he had a neighbor's kid sleeping over).

Don't.

It's easy to relax your guard when it's daylight.

Don't.

 

[Deltaboy1984]

Lack of situational awareness. In both cases.

 

[Jeff White]

bikerdoc has it right. These kinds of crimes are seldom random. There is a connection between the victims and the perpetrators somewhere.

Layered physical security and good OPSEC about what might be in your house is the best defense.

I'd like to see an inventory about what was taken. Somehow I doubt the "thousands of dollars in electronics" was a flat screen TV or two.

Usually the people who do these kinds of home invasions know what they are going to steal when they select the victim.

 

[CoyoteSix]

I second the dog idea.

Also, those creeky, old wood floors your teen hates? Keep'em.

 

[gamestalker]

I have 3 dogs and I live in a rural area, so when my dogs sound off, I know something is definitely going on. It's easy to tell when they are just barking at another critter, compared to the distinct and aggressive response to an intruder.

As for how I secure my home, I'm not financially capable of installing electronic surveillance and alarm systems. But I think the dogs on my acre, and some well placed weapons, help to at least provide some possible opportunity for us to fight for our lives. And when that happens, bad guy is going to likely have to deal with 5 or 6 lethally armed victims, thanks to the advance warning from the dogs.

How could anyone blame an innocent victim, especially a child that's been abducted, and based only on a hunch that there was some sort of illegal involvement between the victim and perp. How arrogant and professionally unfounded in my opinion.

gS

 

[Fred Fuller]

How could anyone blame an innocent victim, especially a child that's been abducted, and based only on a hunch that there was some sort of illegal involvement between the victim and perp. How arrogant and professionally unfounded in my opinion.

I don't see anyone blaming innocent children here, gamestalker. The children were caught up in a bad situation for which the perpetrators were solely responsible.

Often enough, in following up on home invasion type robberies, I have found there was some connection between the home invaders and the home owners. In my area, the usual connection is illegal drugs/drug money. Sometimes other motives become evident over time, often after legal proceedings expose more evidence.

I'm sure others have noticed similar connections as well...

 

[45_auto]

How could anyone blame an innocent victim, especially a child that's been abducted, and based only on a hunch that there was some sort of illegal involvement between the victim and perp. How arrogant and professionally unfounded in my opinion.

My professional experience (deputy sheriff for 8 years) and the US Department of Justice Special Report on Victimization During Household Burglaries agree with bikerdoc's opinion.

http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/vdhb.pdf

• On average, household members became victims of violent
crimes in about 266,560 burglaries annually. Offenders
known to their victims accounted for 65% of these burglaries;
strangers accounted for 28%.

 

[SSN Vet]

Bad Company....

I lock the screen doors, just because they make a racket if you force them open.
I dead bolt the doors, in hopes that it will take one add'l kick b4 they give way.
I have creaky stairs
I have a dog gate at the landing half way up the stairs (cat food on the landing). The dog almost never goes for the cat food any more, but the gate makes a racket when opened.
Both my wife and I are light sleepers.
Gun Vault bolted to metal frame of night stand (converted treadle sewing machine)

If I can't get to the top of the stairs armed b4 an intruder does, somethings seriously wrong.

Now the wife and kids coming home to an intruder in the house.... that scares the crap out of me.

 

[loose noose]

Again Biker Doc has it right, I base that on 30 years law enforcement experience.

As for my home security, I have a big black lab that loves everybody, and would probably lick an intruder to death if so contacted, however, my wife has a little Shih Tzu that barks emphatically at any guests, let alone an intruder, that happens on our property.

I'm certain that the deadbolt locks on all our doors, and the early warning of that little Shih Tzu, should provide any security I need to retrieve or draw my firearm in defense.

 

[Hanzo581]

Now the wife and kids coming home to an intruder in the house.... that scares the crap out of me.

This is exactly why I bought a security system w/monitoring. While I am home I feel safe, and am armed to the teeth, but when I am out anything could be happening at my house and waiting for us to come home. Thinking of my wife and daughter walking in on a intruder was too much. Had that happen to a close friend of mine, wife comes home to a man in her kitchen...luckily he bolted out the window as she ran back outside to call 911 but that was enough for me.

 

[henschman]

A security system would prevent the situation of someone breaking in and waiting for you, as long as you remember to arm it every time you leave. It also adds another layer of warning for intruders while you are sleeping if you arm it at night.

 

[Delmar]

Some security systems have the ability to bypass the interior sensors such as the motion detector and arm the perimeter. If you have one of those types, do so. Some can even take the normal door delay off by entering additional codes. Do that too unless a family member is expected to return.

 

[Eb1]

So what is the consensuses of leaving the timer on when home while sleeping? On my system you have 15 seconds when armed (stay) to turn the alarm off. So if it is tripped at night it beeps really loud for 15 sec before it signals a break in.

You will be woken up by the beeps if it is tripped. I leave it this way when armed stay because sometimes we let the dog out at night, and forget to disarm the system. If you were to open the door without the timer set it would go right off with a crazy siren and calls to you and possibly the police or fire.

I don't think I'd sleep through the beeps if an intruder was to trip it. The dog would wake and let me know.
Now when we are away we arm it away, and there isn't a 15 second delay.

I'd also let everyone know that the alarm stays armed when I am home even with a dog. Just in case someone decided to come in the back windows while I am up front. Also, I wear my pistol when at home. My worst fear is being home and have someone come in on me knowing I have my gun in the next room.

So my question is do most leave the timer on while you sleep, or do you have it trigger immediately?

 

[Trent]

Also, I wear my pistol when at home. My worst fear is being home and have someone come in on me knowing I have my gun in the next room.

I always feel exposed if it's not within reach, too.

But my worst fear is someone putting a gun to my kids head.

At that point in time, I might do just about anything they ask.

Bad guys win, by putting you in an impossible position.

 

[Hanzo581]

I leave the entry delay on. As you say the panel beeps loudly as it counts down and I am far more likely to open a door with the system on that an intruder is, so to save the hastle I keep the delay. I believe the delay is aborted if one of the glass break sensors gets tripped.

 

[Delmar]

Most alarm delays are put on one or two doors to allow the client to enter the home through them with time to key in a disarm code. Delays can be set for just about any intrusion sensor, but typically, motion sensors are an instant alarm. Glass break sensors are typically an instant alarm. A lot of homeowners will place a key pad near their main entry with another keypad in the master bedroom so they can arm/disarm the system from that location.