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Woman Suspect in Pot Stealing Home Invasion

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It’s not often that I see “woman suspect” and “home invasion” in the same sentence. Home invasions are mostly done by Cro-Magnon men who are one step out of a cave and temporarily in society until they go back to jail. Police released a sketch of an armed woman accused of stealing two medicinal marijuana plants while a 19-year-old woman was home.

The report goes on to say it was two woman and two men, which makes a little more sense. All is right with the world again. The Mercury News reports the teen was in the bathroom at the time and was ordered to the ground and briefly held captive while the house was pillaged. They stole the pot plants as well as electronics.

The teen was not harmed. Luckily. The pot plants belonged to the teen’s mother, who is a medicinal marijuana card-holder.

California has led the charge to legalize weed for medical purposes. And many a quack provides medicinal marijuana cards to anyone who has even the slightest ailment.

A side effect of having the law past has led to many such crimes. Even though it’s semi legal, it’s still worth something substantial on the street. So if you tug on the whacky tabacky to sooth your aching whatever, it would probably be a good idea not to broadcast your prescribed pot.

Home invasions are best prevented by locking your doors all day and night and having a home security system installed and armed. Oh and on another note, if you have pot plants it’s probably not a good idea to have them in the window getting sun.

Robert Siciliano personal security expert to ADT Home Security Source discussing Home Invasions on Montel. Disclosures.

Dumb Bungling Home Burglar Jailed

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Yeah, one for the good guys! A taxi driver would pick people up at their homes then drop them off somewhere, and then he would then go back to that person’s house and break into it. I’ve often thought that’s what would happen when I get dropped off at the airport.

So, whenever they ask me where I’m going and when I will be back, I always say “Hold on, I need to make a quick call.” Then I get on the phone and call nobody and say “Hey Jimmy listen, the dog bit another guy who came to the house to deliver a package, there was blood everywhere, Killer shredded him real good, don’t let the beast out of the house. I’ll be back home early tonight. Make sure you set the home security system if you go out and activate the home security cameras as well. And tell our roommate Rocco the police were at the house looking for him in regards to that kid he pummeled the other night, if he doesn’t smarten up he will be going back to prison.”

Then back to the taxi driver “What were you saying?” And the conversation usually goes somewhere else.

The burglar would break into the homes and steal credit and debit cards. Then go to the same ATM more than 50 times – to try and guess the PIN numbers of bank cards he had stolen. He thought he might strike lucky if he kept on putting in random sets of four numbers into the ATM machine. But with the odds of correctly guessing a card’s PIN number ranked at one in 10,000. He never managed to make a single withdrawal. His repeated failed attempts at the same ATM only served to arouse suspicion and he was filmed by police on a CCTV camera.

You can always get creative with your home security. But you need to do all the fundamental things like locking your doors and invest in home security systems.

Robert Siciliano personal security expert to Home Security Source discussing Home Security on NBC Boston. Disclosures.

Elderly Couple Assaulted During Home Invasion

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Every day I scan the news for stories to report on. My job is to disseminate information in a way that is easily digestible and makes sense. Hopefully the reader will act on what they learn and make better decisions to protect themselves and their families.

It’s not easy to read stories every single day about horrible things happening to good people. The frustrating part is seeing the same awful crimes happening over and over and over again. I can write about “Elderly couple assaulted during home invasion” 20 times a day and each story will be worse than the next. If you are elderly or have elderly parents, please take heed:

The man’s wife, whom he’s been married to for almost six decades, lies in the hospital. The victim says the suspect broke a window in the bedroom and appeared in their living room around 10:30pm Sunday night as they watched television. “He grabbed me around the neck, and said he would cut my throat if I didn’t do what he said,” said the husband.

THEY WERE JUST WATCHING TV!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

“He went through the drawers, getting jewelry and whatever else he saw he wanted,” said the husband. For four hours, the homeowner says the suspect tore through their belongings while they were forced to lie face down in their bedroom. “He was very comfortable with being in here.“

Any time his wife made a noise showing her fear, the suspect came back to the bedroom. “She was making noise and he didn’t want her making noise, he would kick her hard.” The victim’s wife was transported to Methodist Hospital in the Medical Center due to brain swelling from being kicked by the suspect. Her husband tells us they will monitor her overnight and she may be able to go home on Tuesday.

Locking your doors isn’t enough. Locking your windows isn’t enough. In order to prevent a crime like this the homeowner needs a comprehensive home security review. Bring in the local police to give your home a once over. Invite a local locksmith to determine what the best locks for your doors are. Call a home alarm installer to discuss a home security system. Consider taking it up a notch and installing home security cameras. Consider a do it yourself wireless home alarm system or hire a professional. But please, whatever you do, do something. The worst thing you can do is nothing.

Robert Siciliano personal security expert to Home Security Source discussing home invasions on the Gordon Elliot Show. Disclosures

12-Year-Old Girl Home When Man Tries To Break In

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Is it OK if I call this criminal a boob? Because he’s a dopey boob who used a pink Huffy as a getaway vehicle. And his victim, well, she’s a ROCK STAR! Read on... A 20 year old burglar breaks into a home. Twelve year old girl is home alone. I don’t know why, I think that’s illegal in some states. But she’s home alone and at least the alarm is on. Which turns out to be a very good thing.

Using a brick, burglar breaks the glass on the front door and reaches through to unlock the door. Girl sees a green latex glove coming through the window. Smart little rock star that she is; she hits the panic button on the home’s alarm system, and the thief ran off.

“When police arrived, they found two witnesses – one who saw a man enter the back yard of the residence, and one who saw him leave. Both provided the same description. About a block away, police saw a man matching the description riding a pink Huffy youth bicycle, and they stopped him.

According to police, the boob had several different stories about where he was going and where he had been. Police patted him down and found a screwdriver and green latex gloves, which matched with what the girl saw when the suspect’s hand came through the front door.”

First, never leave a 12 year old home alone. Maybe a 12 year old is perfectly capable, but still, that doesn’t work for me. If it’s legal in your state to have a 12 year old home alone, then at least discuss home security tips, which in this case it seems they did. She did well by hitting that panic alarm.

At least install home security cameras as another layer of protection with signage outside. Do you think this house had a sign outside that denoted the house was alarmed? If it did I bet the guy would not have broken in.

The door on this house facilitated the break in. Windows on doors aren’t secure. I prefer solid core doors. If you are going to have a window on a door, it should be very small and be at the very top of the door so the burglar can’t break it and reach in to unlock the door.

Finally, I love the fact that the neighbors saw him. This must be a neighborhood with a successful neighborhood watch program.

Robert Siciliano personal security expert to Home Security Source discussing Home Invasions on Montel Williams.

Police Battle Break-in Trend

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Robert Siciliano Identity Theft Expert

Belmont Massachusetts is right near Boston. This is not too far from my house and it’s where people “Pahk the Cahh in Hahvad Yahd.”  Police are fighting a battle that has its residents all shook up over more than a dozen home burglaries in recent weeks. Many of the victims came home to broken windows and kicked in doors.

Among the missing items were jewelry, coins and electronics which are common resalable items fenced on the streets and in pawnshops. In at least 2 cases plasma TVs were taken.

“Police say the number of break-ins is about on par with what they’d expect, although possibly on the higher side because of the trickle down effects of the economic downturn. Some of it’s based on the economy right now, said a spokesman for the department. “It’s people trying to supplement what little or no income they have. We encourage residents to use common sense, people have to take a little bit of responsibility for their own safety and security. Lock your cars, lock your doors.”

In 2 cases they determined teenagers broke into homes to party. One family came home to find liquor and cigars stolen. Another reported their house was messy and smelled of alcohol and one of the beds was slept in.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice only about 17 percent of property crimes are ever solved.

I have a question. Have any of these people ever heard of a “home security system?”  It’s a simple question. You know, those electrical noisy thingies that set off an alarm when an unauthorized person or party forcibly enters the residence? These same doo-hickies CALL THE POLICE. With all due respect, and please, excuse my insensitivity to the matter, while the homeowner is not responsible for the break-in, and while it is an awful thing to happen, you are in the best position to prevent it.

The worst thing you can do is nothing. The best thing you can do is be proactive. As eloquently stated, “people have to take a little bit of responsibility for their own safety and security.”

Robert Siciliano personal security expert, to Home Security Source discussing personal security on TBS Movie and a Makeover. Disclosures