Free Republic

Hello to the city, goodbye to your luggage. That was Senatorial candidate Adam Schiff’s rude introduction to San Francisco’s vexing reputation for car burglaries Thursday when thieves swiped the bags from his car while it sat in a downtown parking garage. The heist meant the Democratic congressman got stuck at a fancy dinner party in his shirt sleeves and a hiking vest while everyone else sat in suits. Not quite the look the man from Burbank was aiming for as he rose to thank powerhouse attorney Joe Cotchett for his support in his bid to replace the late Dianne Feinstein...

CHICAGO — A Chicago man on parole for residential burglary and on electronic monitoring for three more residential burglaries he allegedly committed while on that parole is back in custody, accused of burglarizing yet another home while wearing his ankle monitor. Let’s start at the beginning, though: May 2019. That’s when prosecutors charged Kevin Purdis with burglarizing a Lincoln Park home while he was on electronic monitoring for allegedly using credit cards that were taken during burglaries. He sat in jail until a judge agreed to let him out due to concerns about the dangers of the COVID pandemic. Four...

Manuel Gomez, 25, Johan Alacon, 21, and Sue Ellen Gutierrez Saez, 20, were arrested at around 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 16 near 44th Street and Camelback Road. Four people inside the van ran into a nearby neighborhood, but three of them were caught. The fourth suspect was not found. Investigators say the suspects are in the country illegally on expired visas. Police believe the suspects are connected to a South American Theft Group that has allegedly burglarized homes in several Valley cities dating back to last December. "Detectives believe there are still several SATGs members outstanding," Sgt. Phil Krynsky said....

The city and county of Santa Cruz have faced a string of 11 burglaries at cannabis facilities this year. The author — a licensed cannabis business owner — thinks the police and sheriff’s office need to work harder to make arrests. “We aren’t looking for special treatment. Legal cannabis is a relatively new industry and it is appropriate to have a certain level of oversight and regulation,” he writes. “But we do want the community and law enforcement to take us seriously when our businesses are being targeted by groups of armed and dangerous criminals who appear to be acting...

Walmart CEO Doug McMillon admitted that theft has become a major issue for the chain.. he said that woke district attorneys' policies need to be 'corrected' or the company will be forced to raise prices or shut stores.. McMillon did not specify which locations have experienced the record-high level of shoplifting, but stores in LA have had to lock up most of their inventory.. Robberies there are up over 10%; critics blame DA George Gascon's policies.. ... Target, also revealed that shoplifting at its stores had jumped more than 50 percent year on year, leading to more than $400 million...

San Francisco is seeing a sharp uptick in burglaries, according to police data, but in some neighborhoods the number of break-ins reported doubled since last year. The city's Park District had a 100% jump in burglaries from Jan. 1 through Sept. 20 compared to the same time period last year. The area experienced 373 break-ins this year, more than double the 186 recorded in 2019, according to figures from the San Francisco Police Department. The area covers the Haight and the surrounding neighborhood of the University of California, San Francisco.

Austin police are reaching out to the community to track down two suspects connected to numerous burglaries across Austin. Police are searching for two white men that have targeted around 40-50 food trucks since April. The men are going after clusters of food trucks throughout the city without a specific location, but appear to be tracking food truck parks, police say. Officials say downtown Austin and the area north of U.S. Highway 183 appear to be the main clusters, but there have been other targeted trucks. Police estimate the men have stolen several thousands of dollars including tablets, money boxes...

International thieves from Chile are suspected of committing hundreds of burglaries across Southern California after obtaining visa waivers to enter the United States, authorities said. For months, a sophisticated ring of burglars have targeted affluent homes, businesses and cars in Los Angeles and the counties of Alameda, Orange, San Bernardino, Santa Clara and Ventura, lifting jewelry, guns and other valuables, police said. A similar spate of “burglary tourism” is occurring in Texas, Arizona, Colorado, New York and other states, as well as several European countries, the FBI said. Simi Valley police, working with the California Highway Patrol and Ventura County...

Authorities announced a $50,000 reward Wednesday as they renewed their search for an elusive serial killer they say committed at least 12 homicides, 45 rapes and dozens of burglaries across California in the 1970s and 1980s. The case has grown cold for the killer known by at least four nicknames over the decades. He was dubbed the East Area Rapist after his start in Northern California. The Original Night Stalker after a series of Southern California slayings. The Diamond Knot Killer for using the elaborate knot to bind two of his victims. And most recently the Golden State Killer.

Who would suspect that when burglars are shot, the burglary rate would go down? I have seen the sentiment before, but never in quite such a succinct way.  The article was about a third burglar suspect being shot and killed in Richmond, California, this year.  From  richmondconfidential.org: Terrell Ruben, 42, became the third person shot and killed in an attempted burglary in Richmond this year. A Richmond homeowner shot Ruben in the chest after he discovered Ruben and another man attempting to steal property from his backyard last Saturday.  I think most people would see a clear connection between...

Burglaries are up a startling 43 percent in Oakland this year compared to last, part of an ever-growing crime problem in the city. According to the latest numbers from the Oakland Police Department, more than 11,000 homes, cars or businesses have been broken into so far this year – translating to about 33 burglaries a day. The most popular targets have been cars with more than 5,700 burglarized so far this year. One of the most likely reasons for the sharp uptick in crime – city officials said they believe it’s the gradual loss of police officers from the force....

George Zimmerman and his wife began carrying handguns after repeated run-ins with a pit bull, and the volunteer neighborhood watchman continued his armed vigil over a gated community in Sanford, Fla., as a rash of burglaries left neighbors frightened, according to a report. The couple took firearms training courses and got handguns and concealed carry permits in late 2009 -- three years before Zimmerman shot unarmed teen Trayvon Martin dead -- after a pit bull named Big Boi menaced Shellie Zimmerman near their home, Reuters reported. Big Boi later spooked a dog owned by Zimmerman's mother-in-law, prompting the Zimmermans to...

George Zimmerman's Sanford, Fla., neighbor, said the neighborhood watchman protected his residence from a potential burglary several weeks before the shooting of Trayvon Martin. Frank Taaffe, a former neighborhood watch captain, told CNN that his house was in the process of being robbed on Feb. 2, but Zimmerman called Sanford police, who thwarted the robbery. "My house was being robbed, and George on his nightly rounds watched this burglary in progress, called Sanford P.D., waited for them, and helped ensure that nothing bad happened to my house," Taaffe said. "And it's documented in the 911 call for February 2. That...

After a rash of burglaries on his construction sites, a Nashville builder installed a wildlife camera in one his properties. He caught the thief and posted the pictures on Craigslist. With burglaries up in Nashville, people are looking for creative ways to stop them. Officials with the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department said home burglaries are up 15 percent year to date over 2009. An East Nashville builder may have the right idea. How about a deer camera? A deer camera is a hunting camera that is motion activated. The camera sits dormant until an animal passes by. The motion sensor...

Francisco Galicia had to laugh when he noticed that his city tax bill this year included a new line item: $200 for enhanced police protection. In the past 13 months, Galicia has been burglarized five times, each crime dealing a fresh blow to the longtime New Orleans resident's ambition to restore his flooded rental property on South Gayoso Street in Mid-City. He has invested more than half of an $85,000 loan in the property, hoping to turn a profit and pay off Hurricane Katrina-related repairs to his primary residence on Banks Street. But 20 months in, his South Gayoso home...