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Sep 04 2009

The facts of the case

  1. At approximately 11:50am (estimated from timeline), suspect attempted to forcibly open the patio door. This failed because of a dowel in the door track preventing its opening. He/she left a palmprint, and the door was opened hard against the dowel.
  2. Undeterred by the alarm company sticker, the suspect broke and entered the eastern-most window on the north side of the house (in the back yard). Familiarity with the system may have prevented him from actually opening the window, which would have tripped the alarm. However, this is unclear, as he also attempted to open the patio door, which almost certainly would have tripped the alarm. Possible that he was aware that police would not respond in a timely manner.
  3. The two flatpanel monitors and the 24" imac were unplugged and removed from their desks. Note that there was no evidence of rushing here, as the connectors were fully unscrewed and removed. Camera and camera bag nearby the desk taken. This is likely the first action taken.
  4. Contents of desk drawer with jewelry, office supplies, nail polish emptied out, apparently indiscriminately.
  5. Alarm tripped at 12:05 pm when suspect opened door to garage. Alarm sensor probably assumed not be on that door, as the sensor was placed on the other side of the door. This probably surprised the burglar. Door to garage left opened, no items taken.
  6. Top drawer in bedroom nightstand, on the opposite side of the house pulled out and upended. No items removed. Cup with loose change removed to bed, not emptied. No other items disturbed. Ibook laptop near nightstand not taken, either because it was unwanted or unobserved. Rest of the room untouched, including a conspicuous jewelry box. This indicates that haste was made, and likely the room was entered after alarm was tripped.
  7. Police called by alarm company at 12:08 pm. Officer was routed to the address.
  8. Playstation 3 removed from entertainment center. The controller for it was collected from other side of the room by the suspect. This may indicate that it happened before alarm was tripped. Universal remote nearby was also taken, presumably because television was about to be removed.
  9. Officer that had been dispatched to the house diverted to a domestic dispute. Another officer dispatched; time of this unknown.
  10. Suspect attempted to remove flat-panel tv from wall, but was prevented from unlatching it from the mounting hardware by a padlock. Television was then forcibly pulled out from the mounting hardware. Threaded metal inserts in the TV were ripped out and found on the floor by me. DVI cable also ripped out, indicating perhaps that the suspect was desperate by this point. In this process, the mounting hardware was wrenched into the drywall, causing a hole in the wall.
  11. 17" monitor removed from one of the back bedrooms. Cable was removed without damage, but was likely not screwed in anyway. Time of this unknown.
  12. Front door opened, tripping another sensor, as recorded by the alarm company. This is the likely exit point. Removal of items done in the front of the house, in the light of day. Size and weight of items (including a 47" TV and at least 100 pounds of merchandise) indicates that they had to be transported to a car or other nearby destination in multiple trips, or possibly by two people.
  13. Outer security door closed by suspects, who then left the scene.
  14. 12:35pm second officer arrives on scene at the same time as me. This is 30 minutes after the original alarm.
  15. Questioning of neighbors occurs. Resident of the adjacent house reports she was at home all day, saw a white car two hours earlier. Claims she did not hear glass break or see anyone removing a giant TV into a car within the last hour.

Unanswered questions:

  • Why would someone knowledgeable enough not to open the window, so as to prevent the alarm, first try to open the patio door, which would definitely trigger an alarm?
  • Relatedly, why did the burglar choose, not the window next to the patio door, but the window that was farther away to break into? That window was a less convenient entry point, and just as loud to break.
  • How many people were there?
  • How could so much stuff be moved out of the house without any neighbor observing? Both adjacent houses have residents who do not work. How was it that smashing a window was unheard by the next-door neighbor?
  • How much time elapsed between the alarm and exiting of the house? Why was the jewelry box untouched? Was the search of the back bedroom interrupted by the alarm? If so, who tripped it? A second person would have had to be there to trip the alarm, in this case.
  • With two neighbors who are always at home, and with the alarm stickers clearly posted, why would the burglar be confident that he would be unobserved a) smashing a window, and b) taking a huge amount of stuff out through the front door?
  • How long did the burglars watch the house to know that it is vacant during the day?

One hypothesis that is consistent with the facts is that the neighbors were the perpetrators. They were known to be in the vicinity, had knowledge of the occupancy of the house, knowledge of the merchandise, and would have had no problem moving the items out quickly to their house, less than 20 feet away. They could deny having heard anything. If caught, they could say they were investigating. They are quite familiar with the police response time, as well, as the police have responded to their house multiple times in the past few years. They gave irrelevant, possibly misdirecting, information to the police when questioned. They will have observed the 3 false alarms that have occurred since the last break-in, and knew the time it took for us to arrive.

To assert this would be a reckless accusation. I just point out that it is consistent with the facts. Moreover, statistically speaking, I am led to believe that, often, one knows the person who committed the crime.

1 comment

  1. Snow

    Can't argue with facts...

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