Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Bye-Bye, Burglar

A reader writes: "I wanted to let you know that one of our neighbors experienced a robbery this morning around 10am on the 4700 block of N. Kenmore. The perpetrator accessed the front gate and front door with a crowbar. He also popped his unit's front door with the crowbar.

Our neighbor was home and caught the perp standing in his living room. The perp then took off, stealing his bike. Our neighbor called the police and went with them to look around the neighborhood for this guy. AMAZINGLY the guy was found with the stolen bike on Broadway and Wilson and arrested! He had a black duffel bag containing a crowbar and other tools used to gain access into people's homes.

The police said he has a long rap sheet and was just released on parole in July. I remember Uptown Update recently posting stories about other home invasions during the day when people were home. Maybe these victims should call the police to see if this is the same guy??

I ask that you tell everyone to please be sure to deadbolt their locks even when they are home. My husband was home as well as another neighbor when this guy entered our building so these criminals are definitely not easily deterred. I'm just glad that this incident had a happy ending and got another criminal off the streets!"

14 comments:

  1. I wonder if these guys break in because they know that lawful citizens are unarmed and they are relatively safe from getting shot as they rob our homes? Just asking...

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  2. Colin, I've never met a burglar or home invader that is in that profession because he thinks he is safe from being shot due to Daley's refusal to follow the Constitution. They do it because there is something in that home that they want. Having said that, I suspect that if homeowners would kill a few of these criminals the burglary/home invasion rates would go down dramatically. I wish they would invade my home or try to burlarize it when I'm not. Either I or my little buddy Duke the pitbull would make certain their home invasion days are over. Which is what we need because the criminal justice system ( I hate that term because there is no criminal justice system here ) will not put them where they belong, in jail. It will instead look for every imaginable way to let them off. It will even make them the victim and the rest of us the criminal. As you can tell I fully support the ENTIRE Constitution of the United States INCLUDING the 2nd Amendment unlike our local city leaders who pick and choose which parts of it they will obey.
    Never trust a government that denies it's citizens the right to self defense.

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  3. Our building had an attempted break in a couple of years ago, but fortunately it was foiled by our neighbor. Unfortunately the neighbor witness did not attend the court date, and the burglar was released. He also had a long list of priors (armed robbery and arson). Due to a parole violation, the DA said he would have gotten at least a year in prison if the witness had showed up.

    Please follow through and make sure this guy goes to jail. Otherwise he will be out robbing someone else. People complain about the police all the time, but in our case a citizen had an opportunity to do their part, and chose not to.

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  4. As I walked around last week I could feel "desperation" in the air.Eerie.Dangerous situation to be put in,glad no one was injured.

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  5. Excellent point "thewickedmessenger". Our neighbor will attend the court date and we will also try to make it ourselves to support him.

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  6. Once again, criminalz never cease to amaze me at the stupidity of their lifestyle choice or their actions. I mean, standing a few blocks away with the stolen merchandise and the tools? Did he WANT to get caught?

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  7. Oh, and BD, did you get the email reply I sent? Not sure if you got it or if it was someone pretending to be you.

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  8. Good work and I'm glad the victim was able to follow thru and identify the perp. Were you able to bring this up at your CAPS meeting last night? I think you live in the beat that met last night.

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  9. Man on the Street, I received and called but there was no response. I left a message but will try again.

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  10. Probably the same jerk who busted down our front door and frame with a crowbar on Good Friday in 2006 and was never caught! Stole our computer, printer, and wife's antique engagement ring before fleeing when we came in through the back door.

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  11. So sad that we have to live this way. Sadder for those of us who thought things would change when the Sunshine Liquor store on Wilson at Magnolia closed down and the store under the El stopped selling liquor. Our main security door was not working for over a week, you could basically push and come in. I work hard for what I have and I would be devastated if I came home and my things were ransacked and missing. Thanks for the post.

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  13. Big Daddy: Please note in particular the results and conclusions.

    This is from The American Journal of Public Health, 99(11) p 2034


    Branas CC, Richmond TS, Culhane DP, Ten Have TR, Wiebe DJ.

    Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Room 936 Blockley Hall, 423 Guardian Dr, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6021, USA. cbranas@upenn.edu

    OBJECTIVES: We investigated the possible relationship between being shot in an assault and possession of a gun at the time. METHODS: We enrolled 677 case participants that had been shot in an assault and 684 population-based control participants within Philadelphia, PA, from 2003 to 2006. We adjusted odds ratios for confounding variables. RESULTS: After adjustment, individuals in possession of a gun were 4.46 (P < .05) times more likely to be shot in an assault than those not in possession. Among gun assaults where the victim had at least some chance to resist, this adjusted odds ratio increased to 5.45 (P < .05).

    CONCLUSIONS: On average, guns did not protect those who possessed them from being shot in an assault. Although successful defensive gun uses occur each year, the probability of success may be low for civilian gun users in urban areas.

    Such users should reconsider their possession of guns or, at least, understand that regular possession necessitates careful safety countermeasures.

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