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Victims share a cautionary tale of burglary prevention
By Rebecca Ray
Saratoga residents John and Jane Smith, who asked that their real names not be revealed, had a wonderful Thanksgiving vacation. Then, on Nov. 29, they were burglarized.
What's even more frightening is that the burglars entered the Smiths' Chester Avenue home by breaking the master bedroom window and taking a 300-pound safe while Jane and the children were home.
Since late September or early October, burglars have broken into residences in Saratoga, Cupertino, Los Altos Hills and San Jose and stolen valuables while residents were home, according to the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office. Probably 10 of these burglaries have occurred in Saratoga since about Nov. 4, said Sgt. Mike Powers of the Sheriff's Department. And unknown suspects are still at large.
Burglaries always seem to increase in Saratoga toward the beginning of fall and throughout the holiday season, Powers says. But the sheriff's office is conducting an ongoing investigation to see if a pattern exists among some of the recent "hot prowl" burglaries. Powers and other detectives are trying to determine whether the same people are committing the burglaries. If there is a pattern, the burglars seem to be targeting jewelry, Powers says.
Inside the Smiths' safe were a gold coin collection, savings bonds, passports, birth certificates, cash and several pieces of heirloom jewelry that had been entrusted to Jane after her parents and grandparents died. The total value of the objects was about $250,000.
But it's the sentimental value of the objects that the Smiths say hurts the most.
"We were just shocked," John said. "You know, that funny feeling in your stomach that just drops when you know something gross has happened, and that there were strangers in your bedroom lifting most of what we'd accumulated in terms of personal possessions [since childhood]."
The Smiths think the burglary occurred somewhere around 7:30 p.m. to 8:40 p.m., when John left the home for about an hour and 20 minutes. Jane was in the kitchen, cleaning up after dinner. Their daughter was in John's office, using the computer. And their son was in his room, using his computer, no more than 20 feet away from the master bedroom. He said he didn't hear a thing through his closed door, except for the dog barking hysterically.
Jane took the dog outside on a leash. The dog pulled her toward a bush, but she restrained it. She thought the dog was just barking at another animal. But now she thinks the dog was barking at the burglars, and that the burglars were hiding in the bushes; later on, sheriff's deputies found an imprint of the safe on the ground.
When John returned, the family sat around the family room, talked and watched TV. Because the folding doors to the room were closed, they didn't see the master bedroom.
At 10:15 p.m., when Jane went to bed, she felt a draft and heard the sound of glass tinkling. When she looked toward the double-paned tempered sliding glass door, she saw a pool of broken glass near the drapes. She pulled back the curtain and saw a hole in the glass. Around the hole, glass was breaking off in pieces.
At first, she and John thought their home had been vandalized, and they called 911 to report a vandalism. Then they saw a bolt on the floor, near the TV cabinet. They opened the cabinet doors and saw that the safe was gone.
"We just felt very hollow and empty," John said. "We were very uncomfortable sleeping there because you knew that somebody was just in your bedroom a few hours before, cleaning you out. You look at your ... home as a refuge ... You're supposed to be able to feel safe and secure in your own home. And that innocence was shattered that night."
The family went to bed after 2 a.m. The daughter got so little sleep that John and Jane let her miss some of school the next morning.
"Something like this victimizes you in a way that nothing else does," Jane said. "I am traumatized by this to the very core of who I am."
Jane added that if the city or the sheriff's office had sent residents a warning or community notice, she would have been better prepared.
John says that what upsets him the most is that there was a possible threat to his family's lives. "If [the burglars are] willing to go to that level of risk, that means that they're willing to confront whoever they need to confront to do what they need to do," John said.
Powers says that residents should turn on their alarm systems, even when they're home, because if the Smiths' alarm had been on, it could have scared the burglars away. On Dec. 7, after a burglar alarm was triggered at a residence on Brockton Lane, sheriff's deputies found signs of forced entry near three doors. However, nothing inside the residence appeared to have been disturbed.
The Smiths have kept their spotlights on until they go to bed. Before, they just turned on lights by the doors. John says they'll probably look into buying motion-sensitive lights.
John also suggests closing gates at night, since his electronic gate was open during the burglary.
Powers says that residents should trust their pets when they act funny; secure all windows and doors; call 911 or the sheriff's office right away, not an hour or a week later, if they see suspicious people or cars; and record the descriptions and license plate numbers of suspicious vehicles. Residents should never leave cell phones, purses or other valuables in cars, Powers says. They should always lock car doors; let more than one neighbor know when they'll be gone for extended periods of time; and let more than one neighbor know when contractors are supposed to come and what lights are supposed to be on, Powers says.
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Saratoga, California Since 1955
