Burglary victim urges Villagers to take photos to protect their neighbors
March 9, 2014 By Meta Minton Leave a Comment
Entry was gained to this Hemingway home through a rear window.
A Hemingway couple is hoping a break-in at their home will serve as a warning to their fellow Villagers.
“Everybody has a cell phone and that phone has a camera. If you see a car or someone out of place in your neighborhood, take a picture,” said Al DuBuc.
His home at the corner of Mandrake and Arvin in the Village of Hemingway was broken into this past Wednesday night while he and his wife Marge were out playing cards.
They were at Laurel Manor Recreation Center that evening between 5 and 7:30 p.m.
During that time, someone forced in a rear window at their home. Once inside, the burglar took cash and rare coins, some of them given to Al by his grandfather.
He believes the burglar was still inside the home when he and his wife returned that evening. He thinks the opening of the garage door prompted the burglar to flee.
“As long as we are viewed as a fertile hunting ground for these predators, it is our responsibility to help ourselves and our neighbors,” Al said.
He believes the best weapons at Villagers’ disposal are their smart phones.
He encouraged fellow Villagers to use the cameras in their phones to take pictures of anyone or anything in their neighborhood that seems out of place.
In their case, a white sedan was spotted outside their Hemingway home.
Another burglary was reported to have taken place Wednesday in the Village of Bridgeport at Lake Miona. (You can read details of that break-in at
http://www.**************.com/home-v...zed-wednesday/) In that case, a white sedan was also spotted.
If a picture of the car had been taken, law enforcement might have a make, model or license plate to use to try to find the culprits, DuBuc said.
The DuBucs moved to The Villages in 2008 from the Detroit area.
“I had never had a break in in my life,” Marge said. “I felt very safe here.”
Their home is located off a busy roadway. There is plenty of automobile and golf cart traffic and numerous dogwalkers in the immediate area.
Last week, Community Development District 5 Supervisor Chuck Wildzunas issued a similar warning to residents of Winifred after a burglary in that Village. (You can read Wildzunas’ call for neighborhood vigilance at (
http://www.**************.com/cdd-5-...glary-village/.)