"Hauling Service" Attempted Burglary

This incident happened today (Friday) at 9am not far from Arden Park, sending it out to the group so we can keep an eye out.

This morning on Eastern Avenue in Carmichael, a brown pickup with the name of a hauling company on the side backed into the driveway of a home. Two men got out and attempted to enter the house (they did not knock or ring the bell first). A family member of the homeowner was in the house at the time and called out "who's there?" and the two men ran back to the truck and took off.

The Sheriff's Department was called and is investigating.

Theft and Solicitors

May 12, 2011 (sorry for the delay on this one):

Catalytic converter theft, (Raley's parking lot), Marconi and Watt

The catalytic converter from my 03 Nissan Frontier was stolen from the parking lot at (Watt and Marconi) last night around 8:30pm. I was only in the store for about 10 minutes.

(This is the first time I have heard of a “non-toyota” getting a CC stolen) ALL NEWER CARS HAVE CATALYTIC CONVERTERS, BE AWARE.

[Note: All cars have catalytic converters. The newer, larger ones are probably just more desirable.]

12 May 2011 Italian leather parking lot scam, (Bel-air), Arden and Eastern

Yesterday, I was approached by an "Italian guy" in a small SUV at Bel Air on Arden and Eastern who called me over to his vehicle claiming he was high end clothing supplier who was headed back to Italy tomorrow. He gave a cheezy business card that claimed his name was Vincinzo and that he was a seller to major retailers. Immediately recognizing a scam I played dumb to get as much info as possible. This guy was really good, his accent was perfect and spoke enough to play the part with out missing a beat. He said he had a show at Cal Expo in a couple of weeks and needed help unloading some samples so he didn't have to pay to take them back to Italy. He produced several nice looking "REAL" deerskin jackets that he said he could give me, even putting them in a bag. All had matching tags and packaging and everything looked real. Then right on que came the hard luck story. He produced his passport and a rental car reciept and said that if he didn't pay the bill he would lose his job with his company. All he asked was to have me buy one jacket for $1,100. When I said no it became a what will you give me for all the jackets. Once again, this guy was slick. He had me going even though I knew it was a scam. After letting him drag it on I finally broke it off and told the manager. Please be on the look out for this guy because he is going to con somebody good. This is a well known scam and the jackets he sells are pleather and not worth nuch. They look great and feel nice but you can tell by the stiching that they are fakes. You can read more about the scam here:

http://italian-style-clothing.pissedconsumer.com/ga-milano-leather-jacket-scam-20110320227680.html

Holiday Preparedness

Sherrie Carhart, Crime Prevention Specialist asks:

Do you have a list of items that might be stolen?

Is your property protected before you go away for the Memorial Day weekend?

From nearby areas:

2 Teenage Boys Selling Magazines - No ID - Shawnee Ave

Wednesday May 18th at 5:15pm. 2 Teenage boys going through neighborhood saying they were raising funds for school orchestra - one saying he lived down the street. When I asked for ID (showing he was in fact a neighbor) he refused - and got a bit belligerent. The shorter of the two is wearing a green sports jersey; the other taller boy, blond with an orange shirt. When I told them I had to be careful because of several break-ins in the area, they became even ruder...and then left.

The only ID they were will to show was a wallet with a bunch of dollars and a list of magazines they were selling.

Updated:

Neighbor on Hans Engel had similar encounter with guys. When she said she was calling the sheriff they started to run - continuing south on Kenneth and west on Winding Way .

Deputy Weinstock responded to the call (6:45pm); confronted the 2 guys; found them to have criminal records, but no cause to arrest; found a check in their possession that someone used to pay for a subscription.

The Deputy called the person (who had written them a check) and informed her that she had just given out personal information (name, address, phone number, signature and checking account number) to strangers who, in fact, have a criminal record. Please learn from this and do not give checks to strangers.

And from another few streets:

They were just at my house on Kewanee at the end of the street. Said they lived down Hidden Valley and were raising money for Chico State . They also became pushy when I said we don't contribute to solicitors.

Catalytic Converter Theft (2800 block Marilona), Arden Park burglary (cause for concern)

Sometime after 1 AM on 04/29 or 04/30, two catalytic converters were stolen from a newer v-8 Toyota pickup, in the 2800 block of Marilona.

On Monday, 05/01 at approx 12:45 in the afternoon, an older Toyota Camry or Corolla with black spray painted writing (all over the car) ran into a street sign at the east end of Duran Cirand Kings Way. The woman tried to physically remove the signs from the post and when observed returned to the vehicle, and ran over the post lodging it under the vehicle. It finally came loose at Marconi and Carrisa. The vehicle had no plates and an expired temporary registration with the number 2 on it.

AN ARDEN PARK BURGLARY 05/03/2011

05/03/2011, at about 1:45 PM, my friend came home to a burglary in progress. She lives on Arroyo Grande near Berrendo Way. The man was slight build, Caucasian, 5/10” and about 30. His hair was not visible under his Giants cap. He was dressed in black jeans and a black tee shirt. She opened her garage door and saw her TV’s and other items in laundry baskets. She called 911 and waited in the driveway. He ran out her side gate, passed her in the car and headed down Las Pasas, where a witness saw him get into a car. We don’t have any information about the car. She wishes she had run him down, but she stayed to guard her house thinking others might have been inside.

She recognized this man from a previous exchange. Several weeks ago he knocked on her door around noon. She did not open her door but talked to him through a window. He held up a cell phone to show her a picture of a dog, who he said was lost. She said she could not help him and he went away. Her neighbors across the street were robbed that day and he made away with lots of items. These guys are bold. He broke a window in her French doors and came in through her bedroom. Beware, the police think he has been working Arden Park for a year. Don’t open your door to these guys, tell your family not to open the door, call the police as soon as you get a solicitor like this. They are staking out homes and want to know who is home during the day.

If you have any information, questions, or saw anything around the area today, shoot me an email. My friends is trying to get the word out to all neighbors in this area, since they will probably be back. It sounds like the same group that was on Los Molinos earlier this year knocking on doors.

Burglaries at DPM Elementary, Attempted Vehicle Burglary, Strange Solicitor

From Chuck:

I had heard by word of mouth about break-ins at DPM Elementary School but hadn't gotten details until now:

DPM has been broken into several times over the past two weeks. On the weekend of 4/1 a white truck (same description below) was seen casing the neighborhood prior to the school’s silent alarm being set off. We have had over $10K worth of technology stolen (5 imacs, 8 flip cameras, and 2 projectors). The computers were bolted to a workstation and had a bicycle cable attaching all of the computers. There is some speculation that students attending El Camino may have been involved. Last weekend, 4/8, an annex window was broken at 7:20 AM which allowed the suspect entrance into the main office. DPM was an open campus on the weekend which meant the alarm was disabled from 6 am-6 pm. The suspect an African American male of small build, roamed the main office and hallway for almost 3 hours (until 10:00 am). We are extremely fortunate that no community members, faculty members and/or students encountered the subject. He returned Sunday, 4/10, at 11:15 PM. Responding officers/K9 unit missed apprehending the suspect by minutes. As a result, DPM is now a closed campus on the weekend. (THOSE THAT LIVE AROUND DPM, AND THOSE THAT WALK THEIR DOGS, PLEASE NOTE THIS. Mr BOB, who drives a short bed dodge pick-up, may be at the school on weekends, to allow faculty/maintenance, access to the school, any other activity noticed within the school buildings, call 911.) Security footage has been given to the detective investigating the burglary. It was disturbing to watch as many community members were walking their dogs around campus and the front of school while the suspect was in the main office and hallway. Thank you so much for your continued support. Shana & The DPM Faculty The below link is with regard to an arrest at DPM on 04/19. http://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2011/04/19/two-juveniles-arrested-in-connection-with-school-burglary/

On or about 04/17, an attempted vehicle “window smash” occurred in the 3800 block of Duran Circle. The window was laminated, so did not shatter. The apparent tool used was a spring loaded center punch.

On Saturday evening (04/23), a white male with short sandy brown hair, red flannel shirt, black “skinny jeans," was soliciting the sales of magazines on the 2800 block of Avalon. When asked who it was for, the individual refused to say and started taunting the residents. When the residents started to exit the house, the individual, warned them, "It wouldn’t be a good idea," as he exited the area.

If you have someone soliciting “anything” door to door, request an ID to be shown through the peephole or security door. Do not open your door to anyone you don't know. If they cannot provide ID, advise them that you are going to call the sheriff.

Coordinated Burglary

Between 11:45 am and 12:10 pm on Tuesday, April 12, 2011 a home was burglarized in the 2100 block of Eastern Avenue, on the west side frontage road. between Ione and Burrell.

At least four people and three vehicles were involved. A midnight blue Chrysler 300 with no front plate with two people initially scoped out the house. The person scoping out the area was wearing dark pants and a light colored shirt. A few minutes later, a white Nissan pickup and a dark minivan arrived. The Chrysler kept moving around the area and did not stop at the house during the burglary. The pickup and van pulled into the driveway of the victim's house.

Entry was gained by kicking in the front door. The Chrysler came from westbound Ione Street (twice) and the other two vehicles came from northbound Eastern Avenue.

Anyone with information about this crime should contact the Sheriff's Department regarding report #11-76882.

The below photographs are large. Click for the full version (this will access the Photobucket account where they are stored).

For Burglary Victims

Two different people near our area have found some of their stolen items at the same place: Capital City Loan & Jewelry, a pawn shop on El Camino near Watt (across from Wal Mart). Both crimes took place last August. In both cases, the stolen items were sold by Patrick Heater.

Pawn shops keep a record of every item sold to them. If you had items stolen in the last six months, I encourage you to check to see if your stuff was sold to this business. If so, please report this to the Sheriff's Department.

3409 El Camino Ave
Sacramento, CA 95821
(916) 487-2274

Under California law, all pawn brokers must file reports containing information on daily transactions---whether buying items outright or loaning money and holding property as collateral to a pledger---to the local chief of police or sheriff on the next working day after the items were received. These reports must contain the name and address of the pledger, a copy of information from a valid form of identification. If the identification presented is not currently valid, then it must have been issued within the last five years.

From a second concerned neighbor:

I wanted to know what Patrick looks like just in case I see him in our neighborhood.

I Googled Patrick Heater at Rio Americano and was able to find his MySpace page which shows his picture. Click on photos and you will see various pics of Patrick.

Thanks, Brenda. For those who don't trust searching, I've grabbed three pictures of him. He very politely provided both direct and profile pictures for us.

Robbery

On Friday, April 8th at around 10 AM, the Patelco Credit Union at Kings Way and Watt was robbed. The robber was caught approximately 40 minutes later near Sam's Club. Around noon, many may have noticed several sheriff's cars near DPM school, 2800 blocks of Ione, Barbarell, and Verna. Three males were arrested at a house in the 2800 block of Verna that has been an issue for the nearby residents for many months.

[Note: If anyone has an idea what sort of issue the residence has been, please comment so we can watch for trouble behavior.]

On March 21 or 22, a catalytic converter was stolen from a Toyota 4 Runner on the 2800 block of Barbarell.

I don't have a date yet, but approximately 2-3 weeks ago a homeowner new to our neighborhood had their residence burglarized. Also, one of their vehicles stolen from their garage. The criminals entered their property from the apartments on Kings Way by hopping the fence. The vehicle was recovered.

One last note: some of you received an email from Chuck about a "weird email." He has received several emails with unusual content from people in his address book who don't normally contact him via e-mail. If you receive an email from someone in your address book which seems like they are trying to sell something, don't open it. Delete it and contact them to see if they actually sent it.