On Being Burgled
yesterday, while danny and i were at work, two men broke into our house and robbed us.
they entered our side yard and kicked down the side door leading into the garage. the door was very heavy and dead bolted -- the only reason they got through was because the frame was shoddily built, and it gave way to the kicking. they then proceeded to kick down the door from the garage to the laundry room. this door was also dead bolted but not as strong as the outside door.
the thieves drove around our neighborhood a few times, then parked their car in front of our neighbors' house (two houses down). they initially targeted the house next to us. they knocked on the door, rang the doorbell a lot, trying to ascertain if anyone was home. when they decided the house was empty, they tried to break in through the garage, but they could not get the door open. that's when they moved on to our house.
i cannot express how infinitely lucky we are that our neighbor two houses down was home at the time. she is a very alert woman, and knows the neighborhood well. she saw the thieves driving around, and saw them park their car. she saw them canvassing our house and our neighbor's house. when the men disappeared into our side yard, she called 911, and stayed on the phone urging them on until the police arrived on scene.
the police did not arrive with sirens on, so we don't know how the thieves knew they arrived, but they ran out of our house almost as soon as the police were on scene. the two men ran out through the garage, into our side yard, jumped our side fence, ran up our neighbor's back yard hill, and climbed over his rear fence. the police in vallejo are woefully understaffed so the one responding officer could not give chase. the back up officer was not able to locate the two men after canvassing the neighborhood streets.
because our neighbor called 911 as quickly as she did, the thieves were interrupted as they were packing up our valuables (computers, electronics, etc.). they did ransack parts of the house, including the living room computer desk and the guest bedroom, looking for cash and jewelry. luckily, we don't keep our most valuable things in obvious places.
the only things they managed to run off with were my iPad, the iPad charger, and the cash we kept hidden in case of emergencies like earthquake or the house burning down. those things equaled less than $1000. it's possible they may have also run off with paperwork that contained personal identity information, but we are not sure, and have taken precautions by signing up for two different identity monitoring services. we have also notified our bank and changed all our passwords, just in case.
our homeowners insurance covers theft and breaking and entering; however, our neighbor was truly the hero of the year. she saved us a world of grief. i took her flowers yesterday but it's not enough. i look forward to paying her back somehow in the near future.
in addition to filing the police report, danny and our friend richard are repairing and upgrading the door frame in the garage wall. they are also installing a brand new door and security door (like a screen door but made of metal). they plan on installing the older incredibly heavy and strong door in the laundry room door frame for its added security. additionally, we are going to look into a home security system. this is something we had planned on doing after the wedding; it's unfortunate that the two thieves forced our hand this early.
vallejo is a large city with an understaffed police department; it is unlikely that these two men will be caught. however, because they fled on foot, they did leave their car behind on the street. the police towed it as evidence. if the car was not stolen, it might provide them a link to the thieves, something i am actively praying for. even if it was stolen, they might still get a lead, or at least return the car to its rightful owner.
this experience was horrible, stressful, scary and unfortunate. it was also random. there is no evidence suggesting danny and i were maliciously targeted. the thieves had to kick down two locked doors to enter our house, after trying another house first. we live on a relatively safe street, next door to the head of the neighborhood watch. this could have happened to anybody. and that is a comforting thought in its own way. there are bad people in every city who do bad things. no amount of preparation can make you 100% safe. all you can do is prepare for the worst, be smart about where you keep things in your home or on your person, and develop good, strong ties with your family, friends and neighbors. our neighbor absolutely saved our home from being gutted.
danny and i aren't quite alright yet. we're both edgy and a bit paranoid. we have a lot of clean up around the house to do, and a lot of personal identity monitoring ahead of us in the next couple months. but we're both safe, and aiden is safe (he ran and hid), and that's truly what matters.
love your neighbors, everyone. get to know them, form ties with them, look out for each other. it makes all the difference in the world.
love kittie
they entered our side yard and kicked down the side door leading into the garage. the door was very heavy and dead bolted -- the only reason they got through was because the frame was shoddily built, and it gave way to the kicking. they then proceeded to kick down the door from the garage to the laundry room. this door was also dead bolted but not as strong as the outside door.
the thieves drove around our neighborhood a few times, then parked their car in front of our neighbors' house (two houses down). they initially targeted the house next to us. they knocked on the door, rang the doorbell a lot, trying to ascertain if anyone was home. when they decided the house was empty, they tried to break in through the garage, but they could not get the door open. that's when they moved on to our house.
i cannot express how infinitely lucky we are that our neighbor two houses down was home at the time. she is a very alert woman, and knows the neighborhood well. she saw the thieves driving around, and saw them park their car. she saw them canvassing our house and our neighbor's house. when the men disappeared into our side yard, she called 911, and stayed on the phone urging them on until the police arrived on scene.
the police did not arrive with sirens on, so we don't know how the thieves knew they arrived, but they ran out of our house almost as soon as the police were on scene. the two men ran out through the garage, into our side yard, jumped our side fence, ran up our neighbor's back yard hill, and climbed over his rear fence. the police in vallejo are woefully understaffed so the one responding officer could not give chase. the back up officer was not able to locate the two men after canvassing the neighborhood streets.
because our neighbor called 911 as quickly as she did, the thieves were interrupted as they were packing up our valuables (computers, electronics, etc.). they did ransack parts of the house, including the living room computer desk and the guest bedroom, looking for cash and jewelry. luckily, we don't keep our most valuable things in obvious places.
the only things they managed to run off with were my iPad, the iPad charger, and the cash we kept hidden in case of emergencies like earthquake or the house burning down. those things equaled less than $1000. it's possible they may have also run off with paperwork that contained personal identity information, but we are not sure, and have taken precautions by signing up for two different identity monitoring services. we have also notified our bank and changed all our passwords, just in case.
our homeowners insurance covers theft and breaking and entering; however, our neighbor was truly the hero of the year. she saved us a world of grief. i took her flowers yesterday but it's not enough. i look forward to paying her back somehow in the near future.
in addition to filing the police report, danny and our friend richard are repairing and upgrading the door frame in the garage wall. they are also installing a brand new door and security door (like a screen door but made of metal). they plan on installing the older incredibly heavy and strong door in the laundry room door frame for its added security. additionally, we are going to look into a home security system. this is something we had planned on doing after the wedding; it's unfortunate that the two thieves forced our hand this early.
vallejo is a large city with an understaffed police department; it is unlikely that these two men will be caught. however, because they fled on foot, they did leave their car behind on the street. the police towed it as evidence. if the car was not stolen, it might provide them a link to the thieves, something i am actively praying for. even if it was stolen, they might still get a lead, or at least return the car to its rightful owner.
this experience was horrible, stressful, scary and unfortunate. it was also random. there is no evidence suggesting danny and i were maliciously targeted. the thieves had to kick down two locked doors to enter our house, after trying another house first. we live on a relatively safe street, next door to the head of the neighborhood watch. this could have happened to anybody. and that is a comforting thought in its own way. there are bad people in every city who do bad things. no amount of preparation can make you 100% safe. all you can do is prepare for the worst, be smart about where you keep things in your home or on your person, and develop good, strong ties with your family, friends and neighbors. our neighbor absolutely saved our home from being gutted.
danny and i aren't quite alright yet. we're both edgy and a bit paranoid. we have a lot of clean up around the house to do, and a lot of personal identity monitoring ahead of us in the next couple months. but we're both safe, and aiden is safe (he ran and hid), and that's truly what matters.
love your neighbors, everyone. get to know them, form ties with them, look out for each other. it makes all the difference in the world.
love kittie