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Burglar seen on Video hovering over Baby

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What was going through the head of a burglar as he was hovering over a baby after breaking into a house? Did he momentarily pause to take a breather and find a sense of peace and calm at the sight of an innocent baby? Or…was he contemplating harming the toddler or kidnapping?2B

One thing we know for sure: The 19-year-old actually hovered over the sleeping baby, as this was caught on tape. The man admitted to involvement in two other Houston burglaries, and in one of those he had stolen a gun.

The latest crime occurred on April 5 and the video went viral. The burglar’s name is Christopher Gomez; he confessed to being the star of the video.

His arrest record includes breaking into a car and marijuana possession.

Gomez committed the April 5 crime while the baby’s family was asleep. Nobody heard him enter (makes you wonder what kind of home security the homeowner had, but that’s a whole new article). A laptop computer and briefcase, property of the homeowner, were found later in a neighbor’s yard.

Gomez’s lawyer stated that he’s not sure that the man in the video is his client (even though Gomez confessed). Furthermore, the lawyer, Ralph Gonzalez, pointed out that even if his client is the intruder, he didn’t harm the baby or anyone else. Gonzales added that the video makes the crime seem worse than it actually was.

Gomez is in jail meanwhile, but if he gets out, he’s ordered to remain within a thousand feet of his home and wear an ankle monitor.

Interestingly, as bailiffs escorted Gomez from the courtroom, he mouthed “Hi Mom,” to his family members. It’s safe to assume that his mother then thought, “Where did I go wrong?”

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

Home Invasion ends in Death

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A man died at the hands of two intruders who invaded his home in Sacramento County recently. The 30-year-old victim had been shot. According to witnesses, two intruders barged into the apartment, then shot the man, but not before stealing some of his belongings.

1BCan something like this be prevented? Most likely, even though we don’t have the details. How were the intruders able to force their way into the apartment in the first place? Did the man open the door, and that’s how they got in? Was the door unlocked, and the intruders simply walked in?

Tips to help prevent a home invasion:

  • Instruct your kids or any children visiting that they are never to answer a knock at the door or the doorbell ringing, even if pizza or some other delivery is expected. Your kids must know that they are forbidden from responding to the door even if you’re momentarily indisposed ( in the shower, on a ladder painting the ceiling, etc.).
  • Have an alarm system installed, and always keep it on, and yes, that means making it a habit to turn it off before you step outside to let the dog out, water the garden, retrieve the mail, take out the trash, etc. Kids, too, must learn this habit, since they are often in and out of a house many times in one day.
  • To make it easier to embrace the idea of keeping the alarm on at all times, realize that often, a burglar or rapist won’t even ring your doorbell or knock. They’ll just make their way in and creep up on you.
  • Install a 24-hour video surveillance system. If a burglar or rapist spots that camera, or even the system’s company’s warning decals, this will be a great deterrent. All doors and entry points should have a camera.
  • If a stranger is at your door, speak to that person with the main door closed, never through just the screen door.

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

Intruder snaps Selfie and disappears

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Remember that scary movie in which the psycho phones the babysitter and says, “Did you check the children?” He was actually in the house and murdered them. Yikes, well that’s just a movie. But sometimes truth is stranger than fiction.

SELFIEAs long as people leave doors unlocked, any whack job can saunter into their house. So if this happens to you while you’re putting your kids to bed, like it recently did to a Denver woman, don’t be surprised.

In her case, though, the man didn’t harm anyone, though he still rents a room for free inside the mother’s mind. Yikes again.

One day the woman found a selfie on her cellphone: a pic of a man she’d never seen before, taken inside her house. Though he stole nothing and though she didn’t even know he’d ventured through her unlocked door till the day after, she remains traumatized.

“And he looks familiar to me; everybody else says they didn’t see him but he looks familiar to me; I know I’ve seen him before,” said neighbor Richard Gardner.

Police say the stranger simply entered through the back door, took the selfie and left. Nobody knows who the man is, but Gardner says, “He doesn’t have glasses when you normally see him walking down the street. Maybe they’re a disguise. I don’t know.”

How to Stay Safe in Your House

  • If you hear someone breaking in, call out to an imaginary companion if you’re alone, “Hey Scott (or some other man’s name), can you see who that is?”
  • Call 9-1-1, then leave, or if you can, reverse this order.
  • Maintain a visible perimeter to your home so neighbors can detect suspicious people near it.
  • Get a home security system, then post their decals on front and back entrances and their signs in your yard.
  • Close all windows when you leave, even on a hot day.
  • Get a neighborhood watch going.

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

Can Home Invasion of Elderly Cause Heart Attack?

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I’m a home security expert and have given many speeches on how to protect your home from an invasion, but one of the topics that doesn’t seem to get much attention is the possibility of a heart attack being triggered in an elderly homeowner by the stress of an intrusion.

2BHere are two alarming cases of heart attack in the elderly apparently caused by the stress of a home invasion.

Mildred Pollock, age 89, suffered fatal heart failure a week after two men robbed her inside her house, as reported by WALB News 10 of Mitchell County, GA.

Here’s how it all went down: Two men posed as salesmen and showed up at the elderly victim’s door at about 4:30 pm. The men ended up inside her house. (The report doesn’t say if she invited them in; if they invited themselves in and she accepted; or if they forced their way in.)

But for sure, they removed the elderly woman’s alert pendant and held her to a chair, taking her phones away. The men wanted money, found none, and then left.

Pollock called for help with a backup alert button, was taken to the hospital, and succumbed to heart failure a week later. The home invaders face felony murder charges, even though an autopsy showed clogged arteries in her heart.

However, leehighvalleylive.com reports the case of another elderly victim, age 76, who suffered a mild heart attack the night of a home invasion, after which her health rapidly declined and she died several weeks later.

The forensic examiner attributes the heart attack to the stress of the home invasion/robbery, even though the victim had a pre-existing heart condition.

Tips for Preventing a Home Invasion

  • Always speak to strangers through a locked door, never a screen door, let alone open door.
  • Forbid children to respond to knocks and doorbells.
  • Keep a burglar alarm on at all times, but you must remember to deactivate it every time you open a door or window.
  • Install a video surveillance system: a marvelous deterrent to home invasion.

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

Home Invasion Victim Shot With His Own Gun

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Years ago, I appeared on the Maury Povich show to discuss weaponry. The producers called me to discuss a show they had in mind where the shows subjects were those facing jail time or in jail because they killed their attackers.

In each case, it was their word against a dead mans. Some of the subjects were victims of domestic violence where others were victims of home invasions or stalking. The producers asked me what the subjects could have done differently so they wouldn’t be facing jail time. My response was “use non-lethal weapons” opposed to lethal such as guns or knives.

While I believed this was (and still is) a sensible alternative, I was booed and ridiculed. Even Maury thought my suggestion was poor. I further suggested placing non-lethal weapons like pepper spray strategically throughout the home as a layer of defense. Again, I was ridiculed. It’s not that I’m anti-gun, it was, and is an alternative. Another option.

I know that you don’t bring a knife to a gunfight. I understand non-lethal doesn’t always work. I get that people love their guns. I also know that when you kill someone it’s your word against a dead mans and facing life in prison is an option even when you shoot and kill an intruder in your own home.

Plus, there is always the chance that the same weapon can be used against you.

The New York Times reports that a “New York man suffered a bullet wound to his leg after being shot with his own gun during a struggle with an intruder when a man entered his home through an unlocked door around 9:30 a.m. The homeowner grabbed a .22-caliber rifle and confronted the intruder. Police say the two men got into a struggle, during which the gun went off, striking the homeowner in the lower leg. The intruder stole property from the home and fled.”

Call me crazy, but first, have a home security system that helps prevent the home invader from getting in. And while I’m sure there are plenty of stories that involve the homeowner shooting a killing the home invader, there are as many where the homeowner was shot with his own gun. What do you think?

Robert Siciliano personal and home security specialist to Home Security Source discussing Home Invasions on Maury Povich.

2010 Saw Dramatic Rise In Home Invasions

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Maybe it’s the economy or maybe people are just getting nuttier, but my news alerts have been pouring in describing horrific home-invasions with many resulting in growing levels of violence.

In some places, there is a correlation between home invasions and organized crime, drugs, prostitution and gambling.

In Calgary, our neighbor to the north, the Calgary Herald reports “The violent home confrontations typically see victims assaulted, threatened and bound with duct tape, plastic zip ties or rope while thieves ransack their homes for cash and valuables.”

It seems that home invasion has become a crime that knows no boundaries.

The pseudo good news is in 2/3rd of the home invasion cases the parties involved (invaded and invaders) were heavily into lowlife activities. So if you are not dealing drugs or involved in gang activity then you’re less susceptible.

However in almost 1/3rd of the cases the victims were people who kept large sums of money in their homes. So if you are a person who stuffs your mattress with cash you are more vulnerable.

If you fit into the category of mattress stuffer:

#1 Put your money in the bank! It makes no sense to have wads of cash around. Even if it’s in a safe, a home invader will force you to open it.

#2 If you insist on having wads of cash around then tell no-one! Home invaders are often deprived people in a position of trust who turn on their victim.

#3 Take some of that money and invest it into a home security system. For about a dollar a day your home can be fully monitored and alarmed.

Robert Siciliano personal and home security specialist to Home Security Source discussing Home Invasions on Montel Williams.

Police Initiative Targets Home Invasions

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Robert Siciliano Identity Theft Expert

Detroit Police Department cracks down on home invasions across Detroit. There are few crimes as horrific as a home invasion. When a bad guy forces their way into your home and uses violence on your and your family to get what they want, all sense of security is gone. Apparently this is a significant issue in Detroit, but it is happening all over the country, and the world for that matter.

“More than 20 people have been arrested in the Detroit Police Department’s targeting of home invaders. The initiative, called “Home Sweet Home,” is aimed at cracking down on home invaders. DPD said 25 people have been arrested in the first four days of the five-day initiative. “These guys have made a number of arrests, not only for perps caught committing the crimes themselves but also people who we’ve targeted that had warrants for home invasions,” said Detroit Police Chief Warren Evans. But, DPD said, there are some who have been arrested on warrants for failing to appear in court, probation violations and even one suspect who had a murder warrant.”

In a recent post, “Home Safety: Operation Storm Targets Burglars” discussed that Police in the UK have launched a very proactive new blitz on burglars to bring down crime. I boasted how great the UK’s strategy is and asked, “Why don’t we do that here?” Well…we do!! Nice job Detroit PD!

The last thing you ever want happening to you or your family is a home invasion. This is a crime that can be combated with common sense and a home security plan. First things first, often the home invaders have some type of knowledge of, or relationship with, the victims. Your first line of defense is to only socialize with good, healthy people. Sounds like common sense, but unfortunately too many people associate with bad people and don’t recognize this in their own lives, as I discussed on the Sally Jesse Show.

1. Never talk to strangers via an open or screen door. Always talk to them through a locked door.

2. NEVER let children open the doors. Always require and adult to do it.

3. Install a home burglar alarm and keep it on 24/7/365. With a home alarm system on, when someone knocks on the door, a conscious decision has to be made to turn off the alarm. Most people will keep it on.

4. Not all home invaders knock, some break in without warning.  Just another reason to have that alarm on.

5. Install a 24-hour camera surveillance system. Cameras are a great deterrent.  Have them pointed to every door and access point.


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