Villages couple report burglary, jewel theft.
 

In this morning's Daily Sun there was a report of a theft of more than $6000 worth of jewelry in the 173000 block of SE Willowwick Circle. The man reported that between the hours of 11:00 A.M. and 4:00 P.M on Friday, an unidentified suspect stole more than $5000 worth of jewelry from his wife's jewelry box. The front door was found unlocked.

During follow up visits, the woman reported the theft of additional pieces of jewelry, increasing the total value of the jewelry stolen to approximately $6,450, and the couple reported damage to their front door that they had previously missed.

Investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information on the case is encouraged to contact the Marion County Sheriff's Office at 732.9111 or anonymously by calling Crime Stoppers at 368.7867.

(Marion county section of TV is Northwest. This address is somewhere behind Nancy Lopez)

Thanks Gracie for the article. Around the Holidays like this I tend to become softer, but this reinforces my belief that having my cat is much safer than having a wife. Thanks again and have a nice Christmas.

So sad for them. I bet she had pieces that meant more than whatever they were worth.

I am always weary of service people in my home as well, paranoid me thinks they could be casing the place!

Safety deposit boxes are a good place to store the valuable stuff too.

I've had two friends visit my house when I was away and both of them were confronted by neighbors who asked "Who were they and what were they doing." It's good to know we are watching each others back.

This is why I bury my money and jewelry in a tin can in the back yard!

NEVER been robbed!

Now that your landscaper knows your hideout, he might be able to retire earlier.

Nice post for the critics of the Daily Sun "not posting bad news".

How sad for these people to suffer a loss. My sympathy for the victims.

Where in The Villages is that address? I know it is in Marion County so it is in the older section but I don't know exactly where.

Kind of strange the investigating officer did not notice damage to the front door and it was reported by the homeowner on a subsequent vist by the police. I would think the first officer would have looked closely at the possible entrances to the home and would noticed front door damage.

This may revive the "should I have a house alarm" thread.

I am the victim
 

This is the msg that I sent to the CDD rep.What is my course of action regarding people going door to door asking if landscaping services are needed? Is
there a law prohibiting them from being here or just a weak hope? What will neighbor watch do when called? Of
course I am the one most concerned ,in that I am the latest victim. These people have been going through my
neighborhood since I have lived here 6 years, and nothing has changed, ) but I think that all residents should be notified. The more that I think of what could have
happened, I mean my wife could have been home or could have walked in on the thief, what would have happened?
I am a slow burn. I need time to think things out,am not one to be irrational, so I am asking for you counsel. Should
I make up flyers, 5000 of them, pass them out to all the residents of CDD4,make them aware of what happened and
to be more aware? What if this occurs again, and I did nothing, someone is raped , assaulted or worse, what kind of
person would that make me? They should be aware of "Bumping Locks". I had my locks changed yesterday, they were of
the poorest quality lacking in the most basic features.

I wish to apologize to the Villages Sun, it was reported and very well.

Thank you.


Additional information : Our front was locked. A metal bar was used to force open the front door. The police think that this was done by professionals .

Advisor....welcome to the forum, wish it had been under better circumstances. Can't imagine how you feel. The odds of being the victim of a burglary/robber here are miniscule, until it happens to you.

As I recall, door to door "vendors" can't be universally banned, however, they must have a license that allows them to sell. I'm sure most don't. I think neighborhood watch is legally powerless to force them to leave.

Do you have any opinion on why you were selected and not a neighbor? I know a burglar would be disappointed with my house...no valuable, small items to steal.

Best of luck to you and the police on catching the crooks and recovering your valuables.

Let's all be vigilant!!!

This home is behind Nancy Lopez , somewhere east of Buena Vista.

Advisor, I’m so sorry this happened to you and your family. Thank you for taking the time to post about the “bump locks”, I had to google it and I was shocked. I think I’ll be giving a locksmith a call. I hope the thieves are found and you are able to retrieve your belongings. Please keep us posted if more information comes to light.

The only thing a person can do to stop people from knocking on your door is to post a no solicitation sign. People knock on doors on our street, we put up a no solicitation sign which I thought was harsh and rude....but no one knocks anymore.

A humorous comment in an otherwise serious discussion.

I guess I missed something. How does the victim know that this burglary was perpetrated by a door to door salesperson?....or maybe this is an aside of the actual crime? Confused. If he suspects a door salesperson, the police would certainly be able to track this down. :confused:

Free Inspection
 

The Sumter Co. SO will conduct a free security inspection and make suggestions/recommendations for making your home safer. (Don't know if Lake or Marion do this.) We had them out to do ours and made some changes that were recommended....most of them simple and doable (hope that's a word) yourselves.

I feel so bad for the family that was violated this way. What a bummer anytime, but especially right here at Christmas. Unfortunately, just because we live in TV does not make any of us immune.

Thieves??
 

It's pretty scary to know that in TV there are thefts. However, with all of the construction going on, the yard people, the pest control, the door to door soliciting, and cleaning people it's no wonder there aren't more break ins. You just never know who may be looking a lot closer at your home than they should. I'll put the word out now....we will have a security system so the theives had better go to another community OUTSIDE of TV to break in. As a community, we will all watch other's homes and try to prevent any wrong doing in our neighborhoods. If we all stick together I think we'll have a good chance of preventing any intruders.

If it were my home the burglar would have left some money and a restaurant gift card on the counter along with a note apologizing for any damage they may have caused!

Advisor, thanks for filling us in on the details. I am so sorry that this happened to your family. We have always felt so safe up here in the northwest corner of The Villages.

Xavier

Round Up The Usual Suspects...
 

Wow. I'm not a resident and try to just read here and mind my own business but my fingers just made me add my $.01 here!

"Dearie", The "hired help" working in and around TV are surely responsible for any less than desirable behavior or crimes which occur in The Bubble. D**n have-not-low-lives.

Have you ever watched criminal shows on the telly where they profile
crooks who live in upper class neighborhoods and appear to be wealthy but are robbing their neighbors blind? Happens more often than you would think.

Remember the Rosenblums in "Dirty Dancing"? A sweet, little ole retired couple spending the Season in the Poconos playing shuffleboard and
"Pick Your Pocket".

Everything that glitters isn't gold, blah. blah, blah.

:boom:

Brushing up on criminal shows
 

Ummm...I think I will brush up on these crime detective shows. Probably some good lighting for nighttime and good locks on windows and doors would be a good detour ant. These thieves are sometimes pretty clever so maybe we should never leave our homes! Not.......

Advisor,
My heart goes out to you and your wife. I so wish that the thief could be caught and your wife's personal items found in his possession and returned. That wouldn't diminish the sense of violation, but justice would be served.

Thanks for posting and best wishes.

Theft
 

I will not say where I live,But I do know with all the retired military and Cops that are in my little piece of paradice I do not worry about some low life picking my lock,and if you would like to sneak through my door in the middle of the night, I am very much used to sleeping with 1911 under my pillow.............

Handyman sleeps with a .45 semiautomatic pistol under his pillow? Very strange, to say the least. I also read in an earlier thread that one Villager answers his door with a drawn pistol just in case it is a home invader who rang the doorbell.

I know of a Villages couple, man confined to a wheelchair and wife is 85 years old. The man has a loaded pistol in the pocket of his wheelchair and the wife just got her Concealed Carry Permit for a pistol. They have several loaded pistols around the house so they will never be more an arms length away from one.

I think all of these people are carrying paranoia to the extreme.

People who sleep with their 1911 under their pillow often wake up with holes in wife/girlfriend or self. Happens more than you think.

Best way is to lock your doors, windows and keep a flashlight and your protection item next to your bed. Especially this time of the year you don't want to shoot or club your friend who is staying with you for the holidays.

I offer a class on Home Protection if anyone is interested. you can contact me and I will give your club the class for a reduced rate. Gives you hints on what to do and what not to do for Home Protection and what you should look for to make sure that you and yours are safe for the holidays and the rest of the year.

Remember with all the construction going on not all is as it seems.

PM me if you are interested in a class.

One of our friends is a retired M.D. who says that paranoia does increase with age.

I know I can get my knickers in a hitch much quicker than I usta.

GG, is it paranoia that comes with aging or is it a new reality that is the sum total of a lifetime of living experiences? As I write this I'm looking over my shoulder to see if my neighbor is watching.:laugh:

There is a statistic that 1 person in 25 is a Sociopath; that would account for some of the people with a huge sense of entitlement. :ohdear:

Lucky for these people that Florida is a "right to kill" state. Anyone of them could shoot an innocent person and not be charged.

I agree with you!
It must really be hard to enjoy life being so afraid.