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Article
Courtesy of The Sun Sentinel
By Erika
Pesantes
Published
September 20, 2007
West
Boynton - Burglars with a taste for high-end jewelry have discovered a
treasure trove in dozens of homes in gated communities.
During the seven weeks since the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office documented
a home burglary July 28, there have been 77 residential break-ins in
unincorporated areas generally west of Jog Road, from Flavor Pict to Lantana
roads.
In the seven weeks preceding the rash of break-ins there were 14 burglaries in
the same area, Sgt. Al Moreno said.
The spike has prompted authorities to alert the Coalition of Boynton West
Residential Associations and Delray Alliance of Residential Associations.
Awareness bulletins and e-mails have been distributed to the nearly 300
communities in the unincorporated areas, said Sheriff's Capt. Martin Bechtel.
On Wednesday he alerted COBWRA members who met at Avalon Estates, one of the
developments targeted.
"These are professional crews," he said. "They're hitting
gated, guarded communities."
Police are asking homeowners to remain vigilant, set their alarms, report
suspicious activity and lock their doors, which in about 30 percent of the
cases had been left unlocked, Bechtel said. He suggests homeowners photograph
their belongings, keep an inventory of them and jot down serial numbers.
Thieves have targeted mostly adult communities with gates that limit access
to, but do not altogether protect, the developments they've targeted. In one
burglary, thieves fled with more than $170,000 worth of jewelry.
"It's as if they've discovered our area," said COBWRA President
Barbara Katz.
Residents in gated communities may have a false sense of security and fail to
lock their homes — gates and security posts are "not a guarantee,"
Katz said. "That minute is all an experienced person needs."
Police think several organized rings are working the area, Moreno said.
Burglars slip into homes — via locked and unlocked doors and windows — and
head for master bedrooms where they dig around for safes. They pry them open,
sort through less expensive baubles and run off with watches, precious stones,
diamonds, gold and platinum jewelry.
On Sept. 12, Moreno launched an action plan and pooled more resources into the
area. The Sheriff's Office K-9 and aviation units and even the Florida Highway
Patrol — some developments border Florida's Turnpike — were brought in.
"It became the priority for the detective bureau," he said.
"These are serial burglars."
In a case in Coral Lakes, thieves left behind a rifle the victim owned next to
an emptied safe. They're just interested in jewelry, Moreno said.
Some burglars ransack homes. But, Moreno said, "In some cases, they pick
up the glass they broke. It's bizarre."
It was two hours before Harriet Epstein realized her home at Villaggio had
been burglarized of more than $15,000 worth of jewelry, including a string of
pearls and a ring her late mother gave her. Epstein had been vacationing in
Oregon.
She's since changed her locks and is upgrading her security system, she said.
"You feel totally violated," Epstein said. "It's distressing to
me because I moved down here into a community that I thought was going to be
safe. And it's not so safe anymore."
Moreno asks that anyone with information call him at 561-274-1056.
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