As we (sadly) first reported here via our Flash Alerts and Facebook page Friday, thieves targeted a Lafayette home in broad daylight, ransacked much of the residence and would have taken more had a neighbor not made their presence known.
Lafayette police are looking for the owners of nearby homes who may have captured the thieves on their home surveillance systems, and said they may have watched the residents prepare for a weekend away – striking when they left.
Investigators said the theft occurred at 3:38 p.m. Friday in the 3300 block of Woodview Drive and first came to their attention when a neighbor called to report seeing two men in hoodies running from the side of the residence – their hands filled with electronics and other property.
A neighbor said the men ran to a silver-colored, four-door sedan that had been backed into the driveway of the residence and fled. Officers arrived to find them gone, an exterior door unlocked, the home extensively ransacked, with many more belongings “staged” near the door for removal.
They surmised that the two “light skinned” black or Hispanic men believed responsible realized they had been seen by the neighbor and hastily left the area.
Police said the family had departed their home on Friday afternoon for a weekend away, packing their car in front of the residence and while loading, they noticed individuals in a nearby car that appeared to be watching them pack.
They described the car as a silver-colored Volvo with tinted windows. The residents told officers they felt uncomfortable about the car, but did not record the license plate number of the vehicle.
Suspect #1 – Male, light-skinned African-American or Hispanic, 5′-8″, Gray Hooded Sweatshirt
Suspect #2 – Male, light-skinned African-American or Hispanic, 5′-8″, Gray Hooded Sweatshirt
Vehicle #1 – Volvo, silver in color, tinted windows, possibly an S60 model
Vehicle #2 – Chevrolet, silver color, four door sedan. The vehicle was a “newer” model
Sympathies to the family involved. Hope they get their things back and these thugs are put away where they belong.
At least they waited until the people had left. VERY disturbing.
We have seen a great increase in burglary and theft due to proposition 47 passing last year . This proposition raise the amount of a felony crime to $950 .Those stealing anything less than that usually doesn’t even go to jail anymore …it’s a shame voters were duped into voting for this proposition since it was named ‘Safe Neighorhoods and Schools measure’ and was supposed to free up overcrowding in the jails. it’s a shame now the thugs are all running around victimizing the us good citizens now.. and shame on those who voted for this proposition and the ACLU who put three and a half million dollars towards the passage.
We all need to be vigilant and report any suspicious activity to the police , let them check it out -they want to do so – we need to stop worrying about being too PC or judgemental.
There has been a great increase in thefts and burglaries due to the passage of Proposition 47 which made it a misdemeanor to steal anything up to $950. These thugs usually don’t even go to jail anymore…. and now we good citizens are victimized much more often.
Proposition 47 promised to reduce overcrowding of jails and treat the disadvantage more fairly. It was named the ‘Safe Schools and Neighborhood” measure and the ACLU contributed 3.5 million to passing it. It’s a shame the majority of voters fell for it and voted it in now we’re all suffering
I like “solutions.” If you’re leaving, pack your car “inside your garage” so nobody can see from the street that you’re leaving. Lamorinda has a low crime rate, but it’s a community where people “come into steal.” If you don’t understand this, you have a false sense of security. You will increase your chances of being victimized. If you’re uncomfortable with a car, record the license plate number or delay your trip.
I’m sorry this happened, and I hope they catch these guys.
Danville PD told me 95% of burglaries happen in the daytime like this one. Maybe everyone needs to start taking shifts on their street/block to protect their stuff, packing of course. This is an epidemic on the 680/24 corridor.
So sorry to the residence that took this abuse.
How awful.
Very disturbing. Deeply sorry for the family involved.
This is happening far too much.
Two of my neighbors have had their cars broken into in the last two months. It seems they are waiting at parking lots and breaking into cars when people leave to bike or go walking. People are upset and angry but as we are seeing here people are leaving all kinds of expensive things in their cars.
Pretty ballsy.
Thanks for the flash warning. Very fast.
Not good.
Pretty soon they won’t even wait for us to leave the house.
Happening all over. It doesn’t make it any easier but it’s true.
At least now we have better video cameras to better photograph these people as they rip us off! It does seem that Prop 47 is playing a part in this or is it that the stuff in our homes is just so attractive that people who want it come here to get it?? We are for the first time considering getting a large dog for the household but we have to wonder what good that would do because if we went on a trip he would be coming WITH US! So the best we can do is put up cameras to get good pictures of the burglars or an alarm that goes off whenever a cat crosses the room – thus disturbing our neighbors. Not good. More communication, more sharing of information between neighbors. I don’t know what else can be done right now.
@Greg Thibodeaux: You are misinformed. Prop 47 doesn’t impact residential burglary, which is a different crime than theft or shoplifting.
The argument for Pro 47 increasing crime is that the non violent drug dodders and petty thieves who are released early and/or not locked up in the first place, might commit other, more problematic, crimes.
The difficulty is with correlation versus causation. Crime rates go up and down for many reasons and just because crime increases AFTER a given event, does not mean that the event CAUSED the increase (the fallacy of “Post hoc, ergo propter hoc” for those who took a class on logic).
I voted NO ON 47, but who knows if criminals even care. I don’t think they think about the consequences. Personally, the only thing I think criminals think of is whether or not the other guy has a gun. They don’t think they’ll get caught. A lot of these guys… they have nothing to lose. What else can be done? Criminals are opportunists. Take the opportunity away from the criminal. With the exception of high crime areas (where crime is a way of life), most crimes can easily be avoided with common sense and good judgment. Cameras, alarms and large dogs are a deterrent, but we can only do so much…
Agree with Danielle.
Prop 47 had no part in this crime. Neither did the liberals or Obama like many thread hijackers suggest. There is an influx of crime in the suburbs committed by criminals coming from urban areas. Be vigilant!
Another one today on Stanton?
Suspicious about the car but didn’t record the license plate. Oy.
If you discount the idea Prop 47 is partly to blame, then one is left without an explanation for the spike in crime. Those most involved, especially the police, seem to be blaming 47 so you need to have a good story to disagree with them. I see no such story. What some say is a rising tide lifts all boats. By making crime more acceptable in general, it encourages not only those crimes covered by 47, but those beyond that scope. On a related note, I was parked at Wilder fields in Orinda last weekend and the car two spaces down from me was burglarized with a broken rear window.