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Shop NowNeighbors in the upscale California county of San Bernardino “remain on edge” as “burglars dressed as gardeners” are pulling hefty heists. Nobody can trust their landscapers or nannies anymore because somehow, the thieves are getting really good inside intelligence ahead of time.
Burglars blend in
The latest case of burglars blending into the landscape background happened on December 5. That’s when “surveillance video captured two masked men in a black SUV approaching a Rancho Cucamonga home on Stoneview Road at around 4:22 p.m.” They weren’t there long.
“It looks like there’s someone who drives up from the front,” an unidentified neighbor with a doorbell camera observes. “My understanding is they also broke into the house from the inside.” Meaning someone broke in and opened the door.
According to the neighbor, the burglars “were dressed as gardeners or maintenance workers.” He’s pretty sure “they were monitoring the residence because of how quickly it happened, how familiar they were, how they were able to get in and out very quickly.”
They seemed to know were everything was. As if they had been inside previously.
“After parking in the driveway, the first suspect steps out and opens the car trunk. The second suspect opens the home’s garage door from the inside.” The burglars made off with a large safe which had been stored inside the garage.
Authorities aren’t revealing what may have been inside. The getaway car was a black Mazda SUV which the neighbor hadn’t noticed around the neighborhood before.
Ten grand and guns
Other local residents are forming a vigilance committee. Since police are powerless to prevent the burglars from terrorizing the area, and prosecutors won’t put them in jail, citizens are taking the do-it-yourself approach. “One of the main reasons why I want to bring attention to this is because I fear that they could strike again or commit other similar types of crimes.”
He and other vigilant neighbors “will keep an eye out a little more closely because now that they’ve tried one house, they’ll probably try another one.”
More recent video indicates they probably already did. A previous haul netted $10,000 in cash and guns. On October 17, “a group of thieves disguised as home gardeners broke into a house in Upland.”
Patch reports the burglars made off “with thousands of dollars and guns from a family while they were away.” That one happened during the day also, right around noon.
Security cameras filmed the loading of a large gun safe into a similar black SUV. Police believe that the residence was “cased” a few days earlier.
“One suspect, wearing a mask and a sweater, first showed up at the family’s home posing as a DoorDash delivery driver. He left shortly after, with the homeowners telling police that they hadn’t ordered anything that would cause the man to come to their home.” Burglars like to get a good look around ahead of time.
