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Convict heads back to Jail for Burglary

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Criminals do what they do because that’s their nature. Once bad, there’s hardly a chance they can be good.

1GJeffrey L. Patton, 43, said, “I’ve been scared to death of this day right here,” in reference to being put on trial for two unrelated crimes. So Patton pleaded guilty to the two crimes he was charged with and got four years in prison.

The two crimes: Patton had burglarized a woman’s residence outside the town of Willard on March 11, 2013 while she was asleep. He was also convicted of tampering in an unrelated crime.

As for the burglary, Patton and his accomplice had been rummaging through a drawer of jewelry when the woman awakened. They fled after she yelled at them.

At first, Patton denied involvement in either crime and even said, “I never burglarized a home in my life.” Patton’s lawyer, David Longo, believes that his client was not the primary offender. Longo says that Patton insisted that the burglary wasn’t even his idea.

The way Patton and his accomplice were pursued by authorities sounds like a scene from a cops-and-robbers movie. They fled into a hotel. Authorities surrounded most of the building, including 17 sheriff’s deputies. But the burglars escaped through an emergency exit. Eventually the pair was caught.

As for the tampering situation, evidenced showed that Patton had hidden a syringe in the back seat of his sister’s car where he was a passenger. His DNA was present on the drug paraphernalia, but the defendant was angered at the prosecutor’s accusation. “I don’t tamper with evidence,” insisted Patton.

Can you imagine waking to two men in your bedroom? That could have been much worse.

Protect yourself:

  • Get a home security system. A home security system sends off a piercing alarm and a monitored system alerts the police to intruders.
  • Lock and fortify your doors and windows.
  • Consider a protection dog as another layer of security.

Robert Siciliano personal and home security specialist to BestHomeSecurityCompanys.com discussing burglar proofing your home on Fox Boston. Disclosures.

Burglary leads to Murder

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The routine was well-grounded: Helen Van Orden, 79, worked as a housekeeper from 8 a.m. till noon Monday through Friday at Emeritus at College Park in Manatee. Then she’d go straight home and walk her dog.

2BOne day, she was waiting for her son, Charles Van Orden, 61, to call at 9 pm as he did every night to check on her. She didn’t answer, so Charles went to her small apartment next day and found his mother’s dead body in the living room.

The suspect in the murder is Richard Wayne Matthews, Jr., 32. Charles believes his mother was killed for her credit cards, purse and car. The victim’s daughter, Mary Ann Layhew, believes a connection existed between Matthews and her mother, in that the suspect knew Layhew’s son.

Crushed by the tragedy, Charles took his mother’s dog to an animal shelter, being unable to care for her.

Matthews is no stranger to a life of crime; he has numerous felony convictions. He’s been charged in Helen’s murder, plus burglary with assault and battery, and auto theft. This sounds like a slam-dunk case, as Matthews was dumb enough to tell three people he murdered Helen.

Ronald Ellison, Matthews’ godfather, told the sheriff’s office that Matthews told him he had “killed a lady at the Burgundy Apartments [where Helen lived],” and that he had stolen her credit cards and car. The ditched car was eventually found.

Matthews is being held without bond in the Manatee County jail.

Charles wants to confront his mother’s killer in court and ask him why on earth he would ever commit such a heinous crime. Charles was quoted as saying that he wants Matthews “to get everything you deserve.”

Yes, let’s definitely hope that this ruthless killer gets the harshest punishment.

Robert Siciliano personal and home security specialist to BestHomeSecurityCompanys.com discussing burglar proofing your home on Fox Boston. Disclosures.

Stupid Criminal of the week stages fake Burglary

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Mondays are the pits for many people, because this day starts their work week. Dwayne Yeager was no exception; so badly did he want to avoid going in to the job on Monday, that he did something really dumb to get out of it.

3BThat’s because, according to deputies, his wife didn’t want him to miss work doing fabrication at a plant, which is actually what he did to avoid going into work: He fabricated a burglary of his house. Stupid.

Yeager, 31, called authorities a bit after 7 a.m. and said, “I need a sheriff in Brandon.” He told a dispatcher he’d been gone for a short while, then returned to see his door and windows open, TVs on the floor.

Deputies showed up to an apparently ransacked house, but saw no signs of forced entry. A neighbor reported that Yeager was gone from 6:30 to 7:15, went through the front door, opened the front bedroom window and lifted the blinds. Then he stepped outside and waited for deputies. The neighbor said there was no car on the property before Yeager returned.

Yeager admitted the lie to avoid going to work. He was arrested and charged with one count of giving false information to the police, then released later that day on $500 bail.

What a doofus. All he had to do was fabricate a stomach ache from the previous day’s “bad meat” or a migraine headache or something like that. But you didn’t hear it from me.

Robert Siciliano personal and home security specialist to BestHomeSecurityCompanys.com discussing burglar proofing your home on Fox Boston. Disclosures.

10 More Things Burglars Don’t Want you to Know

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In a previous post, Schlage and I revealed the 10 things burglars don’t want you to know, and guess what, there are10 more!
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  1. If a burglar can hear your TV or sound system, chances are pretty good he’ll think someone’s home. Don’t rely only upon your state-of-the-art alarm system.
  2. An alternative to leaving a TV on while you’re on vacation is to use a device that generates a simulation of the flickering lights of a TV at timed intervals.
  3. Burglars don’t mind taking the entire safe with them if they’re too impatient to figure out how to crack it. Bolt it down.
  4. A barking dog really does deter break-ins. So do nosy neighbors.
  5. A one-time loud noise (like a window being broken) almost always doesn’t compel a neighbor to investigate. If it happens continuously or even just a second time, he usually will. However, a burglar is inside your house after just one window smash.
  6. Yes, a person casing your neighborhood for break-ins looks like the guy who would never do such a thing: clean-cut, maybe dressed in a workman’s uniform with a fake logo, carrying inspection equipment to make himself look legit.
  7. Never reveal your vacation or business tip plans on your Facebook page. Don’t assume nobody could figure out your address just because it’s not on your page.
  8. No errand is too short to leave the alarm system turned off. A burglar can invade your home and steal your valuables in a lot less time than it takes you to run the shortest errand. Products that you don’t have to arm, like the Schlage Touchscreen Deadbolt with a built-in alarm feature, can also help out when only stepping out for a short amount of time.
  9. Ignoring a knock or doorbell is a smart idea, but leaving the door unlocked—even when you’re home—isn’t. Many burglars will try the door if nobody responds. If it opens, they’ll enter.
  10. No matter how hot the day is, never leave a window open even a tiny bit when you’re away. Burglars can’t resist this.

Robert Siciliano home security expert to Schlage discussing home security and identity theft on TBS Movie and a Makeover. Disclosures. For Roberts FREE ebook text- SECURE Your@emailaddress -to 411247.

8 Things to Do After a Burglary

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You come home and notice your stuff on the floor…then you see broken glass…and next you notice the window on the back door is shattered. Your heart starts to race, you start sweating and you begin to feel like you are going to get sick. You don’t want to believe it, but you’ve been burglarized. And you say to yourself, “This expletive sucks.”

It does suck. And it just might have been prevented if you had a home security system.

Anyway, this is what you do upon discovering a burglary:

Get out: Leave your home immediately. The criminal might still be in the house. Consider him or them armed and dangerous.

Call 911: Use your mobile to get the police on the line, quick. Let them come there and secure your home to make sure it’s safe. But don’t use your landline because in some cases, police may want to dust your home phone. It’s rare, but ask first.

Don’t touch anything: Doorknobs, windowsills, remote controls, toilet handles, refrigerator doors, etc. may have burglars’ fingerprints. You’d think police get all CSI and dust everything, but they often don’t. But if they detect an obvious entry point or a dirty fingerprint, they will.

Seek safety: Go to your car and lock it behind you, or to a neighbor’s, local store, whatever—just get out. But be within eyeshot for the police when they arrive. They will want to talk to you.

Expect to be questioned: Police will ask lots of questions, and you may not understand or appreciate the line of questioning. Just know that they are doing an investigation and have their reasons.

Call your insurance broker: Your insurance broker will have a process you must go through to record what was stolen to determine what’s covered.

Expect to feel violated: In the days and weeks following a break-in, you will notice more things missing or broken. The feelings of violation won’t go away anytime soon. In some cases it might be necessary to move, as burglarized properties develop a black cloud over them in the victims’ minds.

Be proactive: Don’t let this happen again. Invest in better doors, locks, security cameras and home alarm systems. Get a big dog, take a self-defense class, properly insure your goods, live your life and try not to worry about it.

Robert Siciliano personal and home security specialist to BestHomeSecurityCompanys.com discussing burglar proofing your home on Fox Boston. Disclosures.