By now some of you know that Wednesday of this week the house of Julie and Rich Cacianty was burglarized while on a shopping trip to David. With their agreement, we are reporting the details of their experience so that you will have the facts and we can all learn how to prevent becoming victims of such crimes in the future. For more information, please visit http://www.altoalcrimen.org.
Julie and Rich's house is located high up in Volcancito, above the horse ranch. About noon on Wednesday they locked the house and departed for a shopping trip to David. When they returned about 5PM, they found that he house had been burglarized. The burglars entered through the office window and took all of the portable electronics they could carry, along with a stash of valuable jewelry that Rich had just brought back from the States and hidden under his mattress.
After being victimized by burglars several years ago, they took concerted steps to prevent another break in. Windows were screwed shut and others pinned. Every interior door was fitted with a double key deadbolt so that intruders could not move from one part of the house to another. On Wednesday however, the office door was not locked. After trying to pry open many exterior doors and windows, the intruder finally succeeded in opening the window to the office, from where he gained access to the center of the house and master bedroom. He was unable to force his way onto any of the other locked rooms in the house.
Immediately upon returning home, Rich and Julie called the AAC Boquete Hotline, and within ten minutes the police arrived, directed by Rodny the operator, and their AAC Resident ID number on the house. A thorough investigation was conducted by the police. In addition, an investigator provided by AAC initiated a parallel investigation. Several important clues were found. It was evident that the intruder was watching and knew that Rich and Julie had left the house and that he would have plenty of time to work without fear of detection.
Time will tell, but we all need to be especially aware of road crews, construction workers, tree cutters etc. working in the vicinity of our houses. They are able to watch your movements throughout the day and see you leaving the house. At 3:30, the work day ends for gardeners and housekeepers. A criminal on a work crew can easily leave the job and return knowing that the house will be unprotected until the residents return. This has now happened enough times that it constitutes perhaps the main source of residential burglaries. We all need to be especially aware of unknown workers in the vicinity when we leave our houses empty during the 3:30 and later time period. Just like we don't leave the house when workers are in the house, it might be smart not to leave the house unguarded late in the afternoon when workers are around the house.
We at AAC are working hard to see this case resolved, as much for the satisfaction of Rich and Julie as to send a message to the criminals that they cannot commit these crimes in Boquete with impunity. In due course, we will be reporting on the progress of the case and making specific and detailed recommendations for steps we can all take to not become victims ourselves. It is important that we all learn from every crime, especially one that occurred in an apparently well defended house.
If you are new to the Boquete community and would like to know more about the mission of Fundacion Alto al Crimen to prevent crime before it happens, please visit http://www.altoalcrimen.org. AAC and the Boquete Hotline is a non-profit volunteer organization supported by contributions form the generous citizens of Boquete.
The Alto al Crimen Team
Julie and Rich's house is located high up in Volcancito, above the horse ranch. About noon on Wednesday they locked the house and departed for a shopping trip to David. When they returned about 5PM, they found that he house had been burglarized. The burglars entered through the office window and took all of the portable electronics they could carry, along with a stash of valuable jewelry that Rich had just brought back from the States and hidden under his mattress.
After being victimized by burglars several years ago, they took concerted steps to prevent another break in. Windows were screwed shut and others pinned. Every interior door was fitted with a double key deadbolt so that intruders could not move from one part of the house to another. On Wednesday however, the office door was not locked. After trying to pry open many exterior doors and windows, the intruder finally succeeded in opening the window to the office, from where he gained access to the center of the house and master bedroom. He was unable to force his way onto any of the other locked rooms in the house.
Immediately upon returning home, Rich and Julie called the AAC Boquete Hotline, and within ten minutes the police arrived, directed by Rodny the operator, and their AAC Resident ID number on the house. A thorough investigation was conducted by the police. In addition, an investigator provided by AAC initiated a parallel investigation. Several important clues were found. It was evident that the intruder was watching and knew that Rich and Julie had left the house and that he would have plenty of time to work without fear of detection.
Time will tell, but we all need to be especially aware of road crews, construction workers, tree cutters etc. working in the vicinity of our houses. They are able to watch your movements throughout the day and see you leaving the house. At 3:30, the work day ends for gardeners and housekeepers. A criminal on a work crew can easily leave the job and return knowing that the house will be unprotected until the residents return. This has now happened enough times that it constitutes perhaps the main source of residential burglaries. We all need to be especially aware of unknown workers in the vicinity when we leave our houses empty during the 3:30 and later time period. Just like we don't leave the house when workers are in the house, it might be smart not to leave the house unguarded late in the afternoon when workers are around the house.
We at AAC are working hard to see this case resolved, as much for the satisfaction of Rich and Julie as to send a message to the criminals that they cannot commit these crimes in Boquete with impunity. In due course, we will be reporting on the progress of the case and making specific and detailed recommendations for steps we can all take to not become victims ourselves. It is important that we all learn from every crime, especially one that occurred in an apparently well defended house.
If you are new to the Boquete community and would like to know more about the mission of Fundacion Alto al Crimen to prevent crime before it happens, please visit http://www.altoalcrimen.org. AAC and the Boquete Hotline is a non-profit volunteer organization supported by contributions form the generous citizens of Boquete.
The Alto al Crimen Team
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