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Kiddie Burglary Ring busted with 10-year-olds

Kids can be so cruel—at least when they kick in the doors of homes and rob people. At least three thieves were arrested for suspected involvement in a series of Southeast Austin burglaries.

3BOne is 18-year-old Erik Rene Marciel. Another of the juveniles is linked to up to 11 burglaries. The third robber is 10 years old, possibly related to an older suspect (a very logical deduction).

On Easter Sunday, Linda Narro’s door was kicked down by the home invaders who absconded with thousands of dollars’ worth of belongings.

More thieves in this string of crimes are believed to be out there, as police continue hunting them down. A child burglar gets probation as punishment. Hmmph. A convicted adult can get up to 10 years in prison.

It’s too easy to blame lack of supervision on 10-year-old robbers. Lack of supervision usually amounts to playing kickball in the street at midnight, not invading peoples’ homes and stealing.

Robbery Prevention

  • Hide valuables such as jewelry, preferably in a safe.
  • Inform the police of your travel plans.
  • Announce your vacation on social media—after you get back.
  • Lock all entries to your home even if you’re away for only a few minutes.
  • While you’re away on travel, arrange to have a trusted person park their car in your driveway.
  • Leaving an outside light on constantly, tells burglars you may not be home. Use an automatic timer instead.
  • If you’re away for lengthy periods, arrange for someone to mow your lawn.
  • Nobody should see you packing your car for a trip. Do so inside your garage with the door closed, or late at night in the dark.
  • Put a vacation hold on newspapers and mail.
  • Make sure your voicemail box has enough room so that it doesn’t become “full” when you’re away.

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

Police Arrest Six People in Ritzy Robbery Ring

Burglars broke into more than 50 homes in the high end areas of Miami and Palm Beach. Most of the victims were out to dinner and some were victims of home invasions.

The perps may have had a network in place of valets, waiters/waitresses or others who had an idea of who the victims were, their addresses and what their schedules were. Most importantly, someone on the inside of this network would inform the thieves when the victims would be gone from the home.

The thieves would enter the homes through locked or unlocked sliding doors generally in the back of the home. Their targets included high end jewelry, watches, gold and diamonds. Losses could be as high as 2 million dollars.

Getting the stolen jewelry back is often next to impossible. Jewelry is the quickest and easiest to fence.

“Police have dubbed the six people arrested for their participation in a burglary ring spanning three counties as the “Dinner Crew Set.”  Home surveillance video captured one of the thieves in action — a masked man with a two way radio.”

It’s obvious that most of these homes did not have home alarms or home security cameras. Many of these burglaries could have been prevented with simple investments that equate to a dollar a day for your family home security.

It’s amazing to me how people go out and spend all this money on expensive items but don’t lock them in a safe or protect them with a home security system.

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