By Vivian Chow
The San Fernando Valley is experiencing an alarming increase in “dinnertime thefts”.
In three cases, intruders entered homes during the dinner hour between 7 and 8 pm.
At least in two of the cases, there were residents still at home. The disturbing trend has caused concern among neighbors in the surrounding area.
Tim Gaspar said that his Woodland Hills residence was broken into in November 2013.
Gaspar pointed out a broken door as having double-paned glasses. I’m not certain what tool was used to break in the door.
Gaspar returned home after dinner to discover his glass-shattered back door. Gaspar’s security cameras had been ripped from the wall, and the room was ransacked. Drawers and cabinets, as well as valuable jewelry, were also gone.
Gaspar, the family’s 14-year old German Shepherd dog was pepper-sprayed as well.
Gaspar remembered: “We quickly left the kitchen, went to the driveway, and told my kids and wife that there had been an intruder and they should hang around here.” “So I then called 911.”
Gaspar shows KTLA the mangled gunsafes that thieves have pried apart.
He said that the safe contained a gun. They opened both safes but, for some reason, didn’t feel like taking the firearms with them.
Gaspar was shocked to discover how near they were to running into the intruders.
He said, “We arrived home at 7:12 pm and the camera where power had been cut was set to 7 pm. So there was 12 minutes in between that time and our arrival.” We may have missed them by just a few millimeters, or we could’ve startled them when we pulled into the driveway.
A violent home invasion in Sherman Oaks resembled Gaspar’s, with the glass door smashed into pieces.
The Sherman Oaks victims said, “Our house was broken into at 7:50 pm on Wednesday.” “We were home. “Four or five men dressed in dark clothing and masks gained entry.”
A woman reported that her parents, who were elderly and living in Woodland Hills at the time of the intruders’ entry at around 7:40 pm.
According to her, she has been informed by multiple sources of the fact that most break-ins occur between 7 and 8 pm when many people go out for dinner.
KTLA has asked Los Angeles Police Department if investigators are aware of a trend in “dinnertime robberies” but have not received a reply.
Gaspar has done some research of his own by looking at the LAPD crime map online to see if there have been any reported break-ins within the past 60 days.
Gaspar’s findings were that “there was a good number” of people who would arrive between 6 and 8 pm. Gaspar said, “I noticed that a lot of them were between 10 am, 8 am, and 11 a.m. “I think that it is just an act of criminal opportunity.
Gaspar will strengthen his home’s security system. He also said that it is important for neighbors to talk with one another and exchange any pertinent stories, so that they may collectively keep an eye on each other in order to prevent future burglaries.
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