I just wanted to let you know of the latest development in our break in. About half an hour ago, (09:35 PM Sunday, 08/30/2009) I was pulling out of my garage to get something at the grocery store for my daughter's school I forgot earlier. When i pulled out of my garage TWO men were standing next to my garage looking over my fence. They saw my vehicle pull out of the garage and took off, one on foot and one on a bike. I followed them up the street where they ultimately turned into the Kensington appartments. There was a tall black male appeared to be nearly 6 feet tall wearing a red or orange shirt and dark pants on a bike, and a white male with a dark baseball hat, white shirt and black pants, he appeared to be about 5"10 with dark hair. When I returned from the store to pull into my drive way I saw the white male with the baseball cap running down duran away from my house. I have called the police, they took the report over the phone and said an officer would be right over, it is about an hour later and still no cops at my house. This is very alarming going on, my house is definitely being targeted!
For the curious, what's a personal alarm mentioned in the first entry on this story?
A personal alarm is a small (playing card sized), battery operated alarm that is usually activated by pulling a cord. When this is done, it emits a loud (90 decibel) sound. They showed up on the market in the 90's. I stopped at Emigh Hardware today to see if they carried any. They said that they were out of stock, but should have some in tomorrow. The cost is around $16-17, and they should be located in the aisle with the door locks. If you can't find them, then ask Tim. Walmart might be another place to look.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Sunday, August 30, 2009
DPM alert BREAK IN 3000 Block KINGS WAY! - possible sex predator
Tonight (Friday August 28th) My husband and I went to a movie and left the kids with my sister to babysit, at approximately 9:00 we returned home before going out to dinner to check in and make sure everything was ok. We left the house approximately 10 minutes later. Just as we got to our restaurant (at Arden Fair Mall) we got a call from my sister telling me someone had Just broken into the back door after first attempting the front door. It appears as thought they thought no one was home since they must have watched our car pull away since this occured just moments later. She reported loud thumps against the front door followed by loud jerking on the door knob. Then after calling 911 they apeared to have jumped over our back fence (several black shoe rubber streaks noted on the white fence). They then went to our back door and loudly jerked the door knob and pounded against it until it ultimately opened, my sister pulled the personal alarm and they saw two tall men running and jump back over the fence. we were unable to get a description other than tall and male they were all very shaken up. I want to put this out there and see if anyone may have heard or seen anything at all, and also to request to my neighbors please kindly start turning on outside porchlights at night time, we live on the corner of Kings and Duran and that whole corner starting from across the street from us all the way to the house across the street on druan are completely dark at night, our house has been targeted now for several weeks and I feel strongly that it is due in part to the lighting issue in that part of the block. The police filed a report and they dont have any other leads. but this is the third time people have broken into our back yard at night time.
Sincerely, Robin
An addition to this is that Robin was out posting garage sale signs on Kings Way this morning and a greenish, Ford Taurus type vehicle made a u turn and follwed her up the street. When robin turned towards home, the vehicle made another u turn and followed her down the street, finally pulling up along side of her. The driver then something like, "Hi, honey, don't you have school today?" Because of Robin's short stature, and the comments by the driver, robin assumes that the individual was looking for teenage girls.
Once Robin made it clear that she was an adult, the driver drove off. No license plate number was obtained.
Again the vehicle is descibed as a greenish, Ford Taurus "type" vehicle. The occupant is described as a white male adult, possibly in his late 40's- early 60'sbald on top, grey on the sidesand the most identifiable features are tatoos up and down both arms, with a snake tatoo on one forearm.
Make your children aware of this vehicle/man, and if you see this vehicle, please get a license number so that we can notify the sheriff dept.
Additional information:
The vehicle, a greenish Ford Taurus type, has multiple antennas on it, at least three, of varying lengths, and so should stick out like a sore thumb. If were to hazard a guess, (considering his approach), he has a police scanner. When/if you see this vehicle, and perhaps call the authorities, inform them of this.
How to Lock Your Car and Why
I locked my car but as I walked away I heard my car door unlock. I went back and locked my car again three times, but it unlocked each time. I looked around and there were two guys sitting in a car in the fire lane next to the store. When I looked straight at them they did not unlock my car again.
How to lock your car safely:
While traveling, my son stopped at a roadside park. He came out to his car less than 4-5 minutes later and found someonehad gotten into his car, and stolen his cell phone, laptop computer, GPS navigator briefcase. You name it, they stole it.
He called the police and since there were no signs of his car being broken into the police told him that there is adevice that robbers are using now to clone your security code when you lock your doors on your car using yourkey-chain locking device.
They sit a distance away and watch for their next victim. They know you are going inside of the store, restaurant, orbathroom and have a few minutes to steal and run. The police officer said to manually lock your car door-by hitting thelock button inside the car, that way if there is someone siting in a parking lot watching for their next victim itwill not be you.
When you hit the lock button on your car upon exiting it does not send the security code, but if you walk away anduse the door lock on your key chain, it sends the code through the airwaves where it can be stolen. This was something totally new to us.
Be aware of this and please pass this note on. Look how many times we all lock our doors with our remote. Just tobe sure we remembered to lock them. Someone can then steal our code and whatever was in the car can be stolen.
Snopes article on this e-mail note available here. Some of the information presented isn't entirely accurate.
While early Remote Keyless Entry systems were completely vulnerable to this time of attack, modern ones aren't. A current system uses a random code generator and thus makes a code grabbing device ineffective.
There's nothing wrong with manually locking your doors, but it would appear your car isn't as vulnerable as the e-mail would suggest.
How to lock your car safely:
While traveling, my son stopped at a roadside park. He came out to his car less than 4-5 minutes later and found someonehad gotten into his car, and stolen his cell phone, laptop computer, GPS navigator briefcase. You name it, they stole it.
He called the police and since there were no signs of his car being broken into the police told him that there is adevice that robbers are using now to clone your security code when you lock your doors on your car using yourkey-chain locking device.
They sit a distance away and watch for their next victim. They know you are going inside of the store, restaurant, orbathroom and have a few minutes to steal and run. The police officer said to manually lock your car door-by hitting thelock button inside the car, that way if there is someone siting in a parking lot watching for their next victim itwill not be you.
When you hit the lock button on your car upon exiting it does not send the security code, but if you walk away anduse the door lock on your key chain, it sends the code through the airwaves where it can be stolen. This was something totally new to us.
Be aware of this and please pass this note on. Look how many times we all lock our doors with our remote. Just tobe sure we remembered to lock them. Someone can then steal our code and whatever was in the car can be stolen.
Snopes article on this e-mail note available here. Some of the information presented isn't entirely accurate.
While early Remote Keyless Entry systems were completely vulnerable to this time of attack, modern ones aren't. A current system uses a random code generator and thus makes a code grabbing device ineffective.
There's nothing wrong with manually locking your doors, but it would appear your car isn't as vulnerable as the e-mail would suggest.
Burglar Facts
BURGULAR FACTS
THIRTEEN THINGS A BURGULAR WON’T TELL YOU
1. Of course I look familiar. I was here just last week cleaning your carpets, painting your shutters, or delivering your new refrigerator.
2. Hey, thanks for letting me use the bathroom when I was working in your yard last week. While I was in there, I unlatched the back window to make my return a little easier.
3. Love those flowers. That tells me you have taste … and taste means there are nice things inside. Those yard toys your kids leave out always make me wonder what type of gaming system they have.
4. Yes, I really do look for newspapers piled up on the driveway. And I might leave a pizza flyer in your front door to see how long it takes you to remove it.
5. If it snows while you’re out of town, get a neighbor to create car and foot tracks into the house. Virgin drifts in the driveway are a dead giveaway.
6. If decorative glass is part of your front entrance, don’t let your alarm company install the control pad where I can see if it’s set. That makes it too easy.
7. A good security company alarms the window over the sink. And the windows on the second floor, which often access the master bedroom—and your jewelry. It’s not a bad idea to put motion detectors up there too.
8. It’s raining, you’re fumbling with your umbrella, and you forget to lock your door—understandable. But understand this: I don’t take a day off because of bad weather.
9. I always knock first. If you answer, I’ll ask for directions somewhere or offer to clean your gutters. (Don’t take me up on it.)
10. Do you really think I won’t look in your sock drawer? I always check dresser drawers, the bedside table, and the medicine cabinet.
11. Here’s a helpful hint: I almost never go into kids’ rooms.
12. You’re right: I won’t have enough time to break into that safe where you keep your valuables. But if it’s not bolted down, I’ll take it with me.
13. A loud TV or radio can be a better deterrent than the best alarm system. If you’re reluctant to leave your TV on while you’re out of town, you can buy a $35 device that works on a timer and simulates the flickering glow of a real television.
Suspicious Lexus In the Neighborhood
From Irene on the 2000 block of Maryal on 08/17/2009:
This morning at around 5:45am my husband, Orlando, called to tell me to call 911 because he felt that there was a possible break-in going to take place in our neighborhood. Below is what transpired:
This morning, at around 5:45am, as my husband left for work, he noticed a white two-tone grey Lexus 4 door sedan (older model, 1990?), with large chrome hubcaps, parked in front of the stop sign of Maryal Drive and St. Marks (facing in the direction of Watt Ave.). The driver was a large African American man and in the passenger seat was a white female, as well as a white female in the back seat. As my husband left for work he noticed that they were watching him, and when my husband passed them on Maryal, my husband then saw the Lexus pull forward and drive slowly and stop in front of our house. My husband then turned his truck around and came back down Maryal towards our house. The man in the Lexus saw my husband coming back and turned right on Gila. This man in the Lexus came back down Maryal Dr. and passed my husband and made a left on St. Marks and proceeded to park his car in front of: 2304 St. Marks. My husband then proceeded to drive back down Maryal Dr. and as he came to the stop sign of Maryal & St. Marks, he saw the man and the two women exit the Lexus and begin to walk down St. Marks (towards Lusk) each with a back pack.
At that point, my husband called me and told me to call 911.. I called 911 and gave the dispatcher the information that my husband gave to me, unfortunately my husband wasn’t able to get license plate. The dispatcher said he would try and send a cruiser to drive through the neighborhood.
As I left for work, at 6:10am, I decided to go down St. Marks to see if the Lexus was still there. As I approached the stop sign of Lynwood and St. Marks, I saw the man and the two women, each carrying backpacks, get into the Lexus, they appeared to be coming from the house 2304 St. Marks. They saw my vehicle and sped toward the end of St. Marks and made a left onto Lusk and another left onto Gila. I followed the Lexus (but stayed back at least 3 cars) onto Gila and was able to get the license plate: 6JAW682. As I followed the Lexus down Gila, I called 911 again to give them the car’s license plate # and a better description of the driver and passengers.
While I’m on the phone with the 911 dispatcher, the man in the Lexus stops his car in the middle of the street and put his Lexus in reverse and sped towards me, rolled down the passenger window and asked me if there was a problem. I told him that there was no problem, I was just wondering what he was doing in my neighborhood. He then proceeded to tell me that he and his friends were going to church.. I then told him that I didn’t know that there were church services at 5:45am on Monday morning, and that I was just concerned because there had been some suspicious events in our neighborhood and the model of his vehicle had been spotted on more than one occasion after these events had happened. He then told me that I would have to take that up with God, because he was just going to church. I told him that I was sorry for causing him any grief and that I would take it up with God. He then sped away down Gila and made a right onto Maryal towards Watt Ave.
The dispatcher then asked if everything was ok and asked for more info. i.e.; which way he turned onto Watt, better descriptions, license plate #, etc…etc…and said that she would send over an officer to cruise the neighborhood.
Although I had no intentions of having any type of contact with these individuals, it seems that they are brazen enough to make contact with me. If you see a pearl white/grey 4-door older model Lexus sedan, Lic # 6JAW682 around the neighborhood please report it. Apparently, they have been seen before and seem to be watching the schedules of the people who live in our neighborhood, and most importantly be safe! Lock your windows and doors to your house and cars! If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to call me at (phone number available on request).
P.S. Does anyone know the people who live at 2304 St. Marks? I would like to notify them of all of this as well…
This morning at around 5:45am my husband, Orlando, called to tell me to call 911 because he felt that there was a possible break-in going to take place in our neighborhood. Below is what transpired:
This morning, at around 5:45am, as my husband left for work, he noticed a white two-tone grey Lexus 4 door sedan (older model, 1990?), with large chrome hubcaps, parked in front of the stop sign of Maryal Drive and St. Marks (facing in the direction of Watt Ave.). The driver was a large African American man and in the passenger seat was a white female, as well as a white female in the back seat. As my husband left for work he noticed that they were watching him, and when my husband passed them on Maryal, my husband then saw the Lexus pull forward and drive slowly and stop in front of our house. My husband then turned his truck around and came back down Maryal towards our house. The man in the Lexus saw my husband coming back and turned right on Gila. This man in the Lexus came back down Maryal Dr. and passed my husband and made a left on St. Marks and proceeded to park his car in front of: 2304 St. Marks. My husband then proceeded to drive back down Maryal Dr. and as he came to the stop sign of Maryal & St. Marks, he saw the man and the two women exit the Lexus and begin to walk down St. Marks (towards Lusk) each with a back pack.
At that point, my husband called me and told me to call 911.. I called 911 and gave the dispatcher the information that my husband gave to me, unfortunately my husband wasn’t able to get license plate. The dispatcher said he would try and send a cruiser to drive through the neighborhood.
As I left for work, at 6:10am, I decided to go down St. Marks to see if the Lexus was still there. As I approached the stop sign of Lynwood and St. Marks, I saw the man and the two women, each carrying backpacks, get into the Lexus, they appeared to be coming from the house 2304 St. Marks. They saw my vehicle and sped toward the end of St. Marks and made a left onto Lusk and another left onto Gila. I followed the Lexus (but stayed back at least 3 cars) onto Gila and was able to get the license plate: 6JAW682. As I followed the Lexus down Gila, I called 911 again to give them the car’s license plate # and a better description of the driver and passengers.
While I’m on the phone with the 911 dispatcher, the man in the Lexus stops his car in the middle of the street and put his Lexus in reverse and sped towards me, rolled down the passenger window and asked me if there was a problem. I told him that there was no problem, I was just wondering what he was doing in my neighborhood. He then proceeded to tell me that he and his friends were going to church.. I then told him that I didn’t know that there were church services at 5:45am on Monday morning, and that I was just concerned because there had been some suspicious events in our neighborhood and the model of his vehicle had been spotted on more than one occasion after these events had happened. He then told me that I would have to take that up with God, because he was just going to church. I told him that I was sorry for causing him any grief and that I would take it up with God. He then sped away down Gila and made a right onto Maryal towards Watt Ave.
The dispatcher then asked if everything was ok and asked for more info. i.e.; which way he turned onto Watt, better descriptions, license plate #, etc…etc…and said that she would send over an officer to cruise the neighborhood.
Although I had no intentions of having any type of contact with these individuals, it seems that they are brazen enough to make contact with me. If you see a pearl white/grey 4-door older model Lexus sedan, Lic # 6JAW682 around the neighborhood please report it. Apparently, they have been seen before and seem to be watching the schedules of the people who live in our neighborhood, and most importantly be safe! Lock your windows and doors to your house and cars! If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to call me at (phone number available on request).
P.S. Does anyone know the people who live at 2304 St. Marks? I would like to notify them of all of this as well…
My recent lack of activity
My apologies for my recent lack of activity. For the interested, I had to have my gallbladder out. I'm back, however, and doing much better. I'll catch up on posting this morning.
Friday, August 14, 2009
Update on Car Burglaries
From Thursday:
An update: the reported car breakin on Catalina was actually someone driving by and shooting a pellet gun at the vehicle, which broke a wing window and put several dents in the left side body of the vehicle. The next night someone tried to enter through the broken window.
An update: the reported car breakin on Catalina was actually someone driving by and shooting a pellet gun at the vehicle, which broke a wing window and put several dents in the left side body of the vehicle. The next night someone tried to enter through the broken window.
Car burglaries, Suspicious vehicle
From Monday, August 10th:
over the weekend, there were several "car burglaries", one on Lusk, and one on Lasuen, where the cars were left unlocked, and then ransacked, (probably not the same crooks), and a window on a truck was smashed, in the 2600 block of Catalina.
REMEMBER TO LOCK YOU VEHICLES, MOST CRIMINALS WILL TAKE THE EASIEST ROUTE TO GAIN SOMETHING, AND REMOVE ANYTHING FROM SIGHT, BECAUSE THEY WILL THEN TAKE THE ROUTE TO GET, WHAT APPEALS TO THEM.
Today there was a suspicious vehicle parked in the 2500 block of Andrade, in front of a vacant house, without a posted "for sale" sign, at approx 1 PM. the vehicle was there for over an hour, the occupants were described as a black male adult with a baseball cap, and the passenger was a black female adult. Several of the neighbors took notice, and watched, to the point that the vehicle left the area. the sheriff was called and responded in 14 minutes.
The vehicle is described as a silver, 4dr, Lexus, with 20 inch chrome wheels, CA lic 5JOV234.
Saturday, August 8, 2009
ICE, a suggestion from Chuck
You may have heard about this already. Chuck forwarded it to pass on to those who may not have heard about it, and it seems like an excellent idea:
Apparently this is a standard procedure all paramedics follow at the scene of an accident when they come across your cell phone.ICE - 'In Case of Emergency'We all carry our mobile phones with names & numbers stored in its memory but nobody, other than ourselves, knows which of these numbers belong to our closest family or friends.If we we re to be involved in an accident or were taken ill, the people attending us would have our mobile phone but wouldn't know who to call. Yes, there are hundreds of numbers stored but which one is the contact person in case of an emergency? Hence the 'ICE' (In Case of Emergency) Campaign.The concept of 'ICE' is catching on quickly. It is a method of contact during emergency situations. As cell(mobile)phones are carried by the majority of the population, all you need to do is store the number of a contact person or persons who should be contacted during emergency under the name 'ICE' ( In Case Of Emergency).The idea was thought up by a paramedic who found that when he went to the scenes of accidents, there were always mobile phones with patients, but they didn't know which number to call.. He therefore thought that it would be a good idea if there was a nationally recognized name for this purpose. In an emergency situation, Emergency Service personnel and hospital Staff would be able to quickly contact the right person by simply dialing the number you have stored as 'ICE.'For more than one contact name simply enter ICE1, ICE2 and ICE3 etc.ICE will speak for you when you are not able to.
But wait, is this for real? I Snopsed it. Evidently, paramedics really do use it.
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