I was Robbed

[joab]

Seems rather odd that IF they saw any guns they did not take them. Also the taking of the daughter's piggybank without mention of the house looking more ransacked is a strange circumstance. Juveniles breaking in and not doing damage is also making my neck hair twitch.

This is exactly what happened when our house was broken into when I was about 13

We did not even know that we had been robbed until mom went to her closet to show my sister the watch she had bought for my BIL
The box had been closed and put back where it was supposed to be
A penny jar was taken along with my some of father's pipes and some religious jewelry of my other sister and the house was left virtually unscathed

The thing that got the guy caught was that nothing in my room was touched, but you would expect that of your best friend.
He was arrested the next day, the family moved and I never saw him again
I hear he is living under an off ramp in Daytona

 

[cyclist]

Thanks for the followup. Leaving the handguns behind implies to my amateur mind that it was a felon not wanting to get caught with a gun, or a junkie looking for junk money and not wanting or needing to get caught with a gun, or local kids or friends of local kids looking for walking around money. But with what the officer told you it sounds like someone working the neighborhood and not taking so much that he/she sends the neighborhood into a major panic and shut down the store, so to speak. Also by just taking small stuff and cash the thief didn't take anything to cause a significant investigation by the local P.D. departments, just below the threashold as some would say.

Take care.

 

[strat81]

Well, what can you do with stolen guns?

Pawn them. Sell them on a street corner or to your low-life associates. Keep them.

Pawning them means you have to at least look old enough for them. IIRC, don't some pawn shops and PDs cooperate with serials and such?

Selling them means you have to have a buyer or access to buyers. If you are otherwise not living on the wrong side of tracks or frequently associating with muggers, rapists, murderers, and drug dealers, finding a buyer isn't very easy.

Keep them. If you're a kid, a gun in the house might raise the eyebrows of the parents. Or, maybe you're not a violent person and have no interest in guns. Robbing a house is okay to you, but actually hurting someone in the process is not.

I'd bet these were neighborhood kids.

 

[Snowdog]

Sorry to hear this!

One thing you might want to consider is investing in a (large) dog, one that's good with family but aloof with strangers (and a breed with more the "aggressive stigma", the better).

I lost my GSD a week before Thanksgiving and my Boxer a week later (on Thanksgiving). Not only did I feel a great sense of loss, but also a great sense of lost security as well. We rescued a "shepherd mix" from the pound and I'm in the process of purchasing 2 large-bone GSDs.

Of course, buying a dog today won't make much of a difference if someone attempts to break in tomorrow... but if they try to break in 2 months from tomorrow when that dog has claimed your home as its den and your family as its pack, they might decide against a return visit.

 

[Grandpa Shooter]

Double on the dogs! I used to live in a less than wonderful neighborhood with a lot of gang activity and punkery. My house never got touched. Even the police when doing a yard by yard wouldn't go in my yard.

Since then I moved to the mountains, where the locals rarely even lock their doors and my dogs have befriended the whole neighborhood. They don't even go out to meet the GF anymore. Darn dogs

 

[r6zer]

One other thing you can check since they took money is your check books. make sure all the checks are still there. My mom had a couple missing in the middle. She only noticed it because they tore them out sloppily. Glad your guns are still there.

 

[ptmmatssc]

One thing you might want to consider is investing in a (large) dog, one that's good with family but aloof with strangers (and a breed with more the "aggressive stigma", the better).

Got a nice brindle boxer for fathers day . Needless to say , she's still a pup (10-11 months old) . Had a 150lb rotti previous to that , and had he still been alive , they wouldn't have made it in the door .

One other thing you can check since they took money is your check books.

One of the first things I had the wife do . Checked the checkbook and box of checks to see if any were missing . All there .

FIL just stopped by and brought a camera and receiver for me so I'll be working on that today . I have one set up , but it just covers the driveway and vehicles . Going to set this one up inside covering kitchen/living room . Also just paid for a door to be picked up tomorrow . Nice steel door . Will be reinforcing the door jams with steel plate with holes for deadbolt etc .

 

[RedneckUF]

first of all, sorry to hear this happened to you. Years ago, it happened to me. It was about the same as you, they took some stuff, but left the brand new computer (which at the time was worth $2,000), my collection of case knives, and my shotgun which was loaded and in plain sight (i was under 21 at the time and didn't have handguns yet).

I know the feeling. It was hard for me to get a good nights sleep for a couple weeks. It is a feeling of having someone go through your stuff in an intimate way and not knowing who it was or what information they know about you now. I felt violated as I think you do too. I lived alone (college student), but it probably feels worse with you having a wife and kids.

My advice, even though you didn't ask for any, is invest in good "Grade 1" door lock. Having worked in the hardware industry for years (it put me through college), locks that have components made of solid brass are your friend. I like Kwikset grade 1 ultramax (shlage is easy to lock yourself out of your house). The locks come with a door jam reenforcer that makes the slide go into a solid brass sheath. the sheath is screwed into the door with several 3" solid brass wood screws. I forget the logistics, but the lock, with an average steel door and average door jam would require several 250# kicks before it opens. (enough time to alert you). Grade 1 are simply more secure. You can install them if you are handy, if not, hire a locksmith. In the future, remember that even though windows are not very secure, most buglars (something like 85-90%) come through the front door, like they did me and you, I think.

Thanks for posting this story. It reminds me of what I need to remain safe in my home. Good luck and remember, most, if not all, of what they took can be replaced. It could have been worse, and use it as a learning experience.

I suggest to other members, take action before something like this happens to your family.

Good Luck,

Trip

 

[v35]

Your Daughter's piggy bank? That's sick and wrong on every imaginable level.

Druggies will take any amount of cash. Doesn't matter if it's pocket change in your car's ashtray, and they cause $1000 damage breaking in to get it.

Drugs are the reason for 95% of all petty theft - I'd guess that's the motivation in this case. Tomorrow they'll be looking for another door to kick in.

 

[ARK9mm]

ptmmatssc,
I hope things work out well for you. If you decide to go with electonic security, check with some of these companies
http://www.alarm.org/member_companies/member_listings/me.htm
They are members of a reputable national organization. Doesn't mean they're perfect just that they care to join a group that lobbies for better legislation. (like our NRA). Great decision to have the FIL take the guns w/him for the immediate. Sorry for the loss and hope we can help somehow!

 

[ptmmatssc]

Thanks for the input guys . Just got done setting up my camera and am thinking how/where to hide the receiver and vcr . Essentially , the camera has a good view of my living room (main entrance door) through the kitchen (back door they broke in) . The wife has agreed to let me get a large safe for home to keep what I do have here safer , so that's a plus.

Luckily I'm on my 4 days off so if anyone decides to make a repeat appearance they'll have a little surprise .

 

[Soybomb]

For a criminal that is only interested in burglary, guns are not that useful ... selling them when they've never fenced a stolen gun is difficult and scary.

Doesn't the theft of guns also automatically step up the potential punishment to a much higher level?

 

[REOIV]

Doesn't the theft of guns also automatically step up the potential punishment to a much higher level?

Yup 500 to 750 dollars or more makes it a felony if it wasn't one already.

Many people own just one gun worth almost 2 to 3 times that if not more.

So if all they did was break in and steal 1 gun they are close to a felony on just the value of items stolen alone.

They would be better off stealing cash and electronics than firearms.

 

[kurtmax]

I have a network camera from Panasonic set up in my apartment. It transmits the data to a remote server of mine, so I don't have to worry about 'hiding' a vcr.

 

[lloydkristmas]

Seems rather odd that IF they saw any guns they did not take them. Also the taking of the daughter's piggybank without mention of the house looking more ransacked is a strange circumstance. Juveniles breaking in and not doing damage is also making my neck hair twitch.

I am NOT disputing your information. Just saying there are a lot of things that seem out of place. Makes me wonder, but ten I spend 20+ years working with criminals, so my antennae are tuned differently than the ordinary person's.

Get your video survellience set up ASAP. Make sure you have some cameras that are in places nobody would think about (fisheye in a wall clock or inside a book, peeking out the spine).

stay safe.

skidmark

My apartment was broken into not long ago and it was very similar. Change jar and some money was taken, as was a fake Rolex sitting on my desk, but no computer, speakers, shotgun, or any other stuff was taken. Cops said they figured it was kids, or someone on foot or on a bike who simply couldnt carry big stuff. Now I'm afraid they will come back so I carry in my house at all times.

 

[Geno]

Q 1: What day of the week did this happen?

Q 2: What time of day did this happen?

Hopefully this happened during school hours. If so, the police could have administration cross-reference 2 or 3 databases: 1) attendance, 2) driving & 3) discipline (if you are an educator).

The three databases will tell you who was in-school/out-of-school, and who had transportation. I used the 3rd database because I sensed retribution from students who had been disciplined. You may not need database #3, perhaps only #s 1 & 2. If it happened over a weekend or on a day-off of school, then the databases are useless because all of the students would have been out-of-school.

Just an FYI that this is how I caught the two students who broke into my house when I was a high school principal.

Doc2005

 

[ptmmatssc]

Doc , it was monday during school hours . And yes I mentioned that to the officer that was here . I also got info today from the woman's son where my daughter goes for daycare. He informed me of a few select individuals that already have a lengthy history of burglaries like mine and that one of the most notorious was just released from juvenile detention recently . I have not heard from the PD yet , but plan on calling them tomorrow to inquire about the situation .

 

[BigSoundRacing]

Sorry to hear about this - but a good reminder for all of us.

For me, it is time to buy cameras for the property and place the receiver in the safe.

 

[EmGeeGeorge]

"Locks keep honest people out of your house."

Perhaps it was a previously convicted felon... some states(or pd's) are more pro-active about seeking that 5 yr fed enhancement for felon in possession of a firearm...

I got a home security system... plus a safe... security is about redundancy.

Locks can be defeated. Security ystems can be bypassed. Dogs can be bribed,or distracted... But if you layer, something will catch... plus the outwards signs of a secure home(2 locks on all doors, window latches and locks, plus the ADT sticker) make a baddie look for easier pickins...

 

[a1abdj]

I'm sorry to hear of your loss. Unfortunately, many of my customers are people just like you with similar stories.

Although you stated that you knew it was a document safe, I suspect that you were expecting a little more security out of your safe. This is a perfect example of why you should speak with somebody who knows about safes in order to make sure you're getting what you expect. Many people justify their inexpensive and improper safes by saying they will keep smash and grab burglars out. Here's yet another example of what may very well be a child breaking into one.

As you go out to look at a replacement safe, make sure you get something that's secure. Just because it's bigger or heavier doesn't mean it's any stronger than what you already had. Most gun safes aren't much more secure than the document safe that was easily defeated.