Home break-in by lawn worker
 

From today's Leesburg Daily COmmercial:




Man takes care of lawn, jewelry

Published: Saturday, March 09, 2013

THE VILLAGES

MILLARD K. IVES | Staff Writer

millardives@dailycommercial.com

A Leesburg man is in jail after being accused of breaking into a home and stealing $5,000 in cash and jewelry -- the same home where he was performing lawn maintenance.

Matthew John Kalarovich II, 25, was charged with burglary and grand theft, and initially placed in the Sumter County jail in lieu of $7,000 bail. According to jail officials, a judge raised his bail to $17,000 in light of his criminal history.

Lt. Bobby Caruthers, spokesman for the Sumter County Sheriff's Office, said Kalarovich was conducting lawn maintenance at a home in The Villages on Tuesday when the homeowners left for Plant City sometime around noon.

Kalarovich allegedly entered the home through an unlocked door and stole the items. Sheriff's spokesman Capt. Kevin Hofecker said on Friday that some of the stolen property has been recovered after it was discovered that Kalarovich sold some of the jewelry to a second-hand gold dealer in Leesburg.

It is not clear how long Kalarovich has been employed with the unidentified lawn maintenace company, but Caruthers said the homeowners reported that it had been different employees who had worked on their lawn before.

Caruthers said the sheriff's office would determine if Kalarovich could be linked to any other burglaries in Sumter County. According to the Lake County jail website, Kalarovich has been arrested at least three times since 2006 on burglary charges, including more than a dozen counts during a February 2012 arrest.

In a press release on the arrest, Sheriff Bill Farmer offered the following safety tips in securing your home.

n Never allow maintenance workers unsupervised inside your home;

n Always lock and secure your residence when away;

n Secure all valuables and important documents in a safety deposit box at your financial institution;

n If you have a home safe, make sure it is properly secured to the floor and kept locked; and

n Do not share codes and lock combinations with anyone.

If anyone would like more information on how to better secure their home, the Sumter County Sheriff's Office offers free home security surveys where a deputy -- certified in home protection -- will inspect the residence and offer suggestions on better protection. To schedule an appointment, residents in The Villages can call the Sheriff's Village Annex at 352-689-4600; and other residents can call the sheriff's office in Bushnell at 352-569-1600.

thanks for sharing this. we need to know.
Kitty

Loser! He should be so ashamed.

It was on Wesh2 News this morning along with his picture.

Wonder who he worked for.

In addition, maybe it's a good idea NOT to leave until after your lawn workers ( or any other workers) are gone, NOT while they are still there, especially if they are not familiar to you.
This slug probably chose to join a lawn company with the specific intent to get up close to private homes.

However, we here in TV are easy pickings if we get too comfortable and forget our 'street smarts'. Not that we have to be fearful or on high guard, just aware of the picture we are presenting out there and alert to our surroundings.

Terribly upsetting for those homeowners. At least they know the culprit is in jail.

This creep is on Facebook and even has posts showing wads of money and jewelry.

I was trying to find out who he was working for....that's the reason I was looking in Facebook.

been arrested at least three times since 2006 on burglary charges, including more than a dozen counts during a February 2012 arrest.

Why is he out of Jail?

My lawn workers frequently work when I'm not home, but I never leave a door unlocked.

Makes you wonder if any background checks are done on workers??? Why would a landscape company hire a felon? :ohdear:

Another article Daily Commercial - <p>3 kids honored after helping cops</p>

I agree! :clap2:

No room at the Inn???

I have seen a couple of men that look as though they are out on parole! It scares me a little.

The Federal government is discouraging criminal background checks.

Maybe I missed it but does anyone know who this slug worked for and also what Village did the victim reside in? Tks in advance.

I am thinking of hiring a helper. Does anyone know how do I do a background check?
Thx

You're right. The Feds claim that employers are discriminating when they refuse to hire ex-felons. Everything is upside down today.

This is quite unfortunate for the home owner, to say the least and in reading the subsequent posts, it certainly gives residents the creeps....plus I agree, why was he out of jail? Innocent folks should be protected. Retired folks deserve peace of mind in their new surroundings.

We've decided to put our home on the market once we finish "downsizing" and decluttering.......painting, recarpeting, etc..........so this bit of news won't deter us.......however, I agree with the poster who says that we all should be made aware and know what's going on.

Also, can't help but think that this is the difference between really living in a small town where everyone knows each other....and your landscapers are actual residents and children and grandchildren of your own neighbors and townsfolks whom you've known since they were born.........whom you can trust around your house.....ditto for carpenters and pool guys, etc.

This is the difference, sad to say, with TV. No one really knows the families of their workmen.........nor the background of their workmen.

To think that some might be felons or ex cons , does indeed give one a creepy feeling..........

Just this morning, after reading this, we discussed that we would install a security alarm system in our TV home......something we've never ever felt a need for in all our 48 years of marriage............but seems like the right thing to do.

To be fair, even in small towns... people are now urged to lock their doors, whereas in the past.......people left their keys in their cars and doors unlocked. Times have changed all over.......for sure.

Senior, You are right as usual, but we are so different from a small town and one that we have known everyone for a long time. We are a group of pioneers, strangers to each other, beginning a new life together, and we aren't small either. I have heard that our population now exceeds Ocala.

I think that the Landscaping companies pay very small wages and don't pay for background checks because the turnover with employment is so great.

What we have here that is unusual is that most of us are not working and moving about the streets and have our eyes out for the unusual.

I am convinced that security cameras, now not terribly expensive to install are a great detriment to people attempting to do any funny business.

Many people can view the interior of their snowbird home from their home up North...but I don't suppose you can do that if you have renters.

Never thought of that.

We sit on our neighbors lanai with them and she has her smart phone in her hand and she will hand it over to show a picture on it of us sitting and moving on her lanai. It is stored in cyberspace and gives her some alert when someone comes within camera range when she is away.

Why would you hire a landscaper with felonies. Do quick research and you'll find all kinds of crimes against others.

You're kidding right?? Landscape companies and many other "service" companies tend pay low wages, their business is seasonal and people come and go all the time. Often an employer cannot even count on the hired man even showing up that day. Landscape companies have been pretty much known for hiring anybody who will show up which includes felons & illegals. Landscapers, contractors and the like are not known for hiring MIT or seminary graduates. Actually I'm surprised that more of this doesn't happen on a regular basis.

seminary graduates will work for free.............................

Naturally, it is terrible that a lawn worker went into someone's home and stole from them.

The home owners left a door unlocked! You cannot do that anywhere. It does not matter if you are living in a retirement community of 90,000 people or a little town of 600. There are always going to be some no-goodniks around who will steal.

Home owners have to use common sense and too many don't.

I had Massey Pest out for the annual termite inspection the other day. The inspector (I am sure he was an honest man) said he would just look around the inside of the house for termite signs and I did not have to go with him while he inspected. I am not going to let any worker go around without me and I said it was no trouble and that I would like to watch to see what he was looking for. I accompanied him. No problem of course.

Just use common sense about things and your chances of being a victim are a lot less.

Funny thing..we rarely locked our doors until we came here. When we were living just outside of Baltimore we almost never locked our doors and never had an incident. In other smaller towns, we didn't lock the doors and never had a problem. However when we came here, we heard lots of warnings about keeping the doors locked "at all times" over incidents just like this. Not sure what to think about it, but when we're home our doors are open all the time, and many times my keys are in the ignition of my truck. I know there are plenty of people here who will tell me I'm an idiot for doing that, although I've been called an idiot so many times in my life, it sort of just rolls off. I can't live in my own home as though I'm living in a jail.

Don't know who he worked for but I'm sure that wasn't part of his job description! Happened in Ashland Village.

You don't need cameras or security systems or alarms - just by a big dog (non-pooping of course)!

.... and maybe a small sign that says,
"Hoyt Trained Dobermans. Survivors will be prosecuted."

That was law in Illinois, to post this sign when people bought their Dobes from a breeder/trainer I knew named Hoyt.
My uncle had two of these beautiful dogs.


NOT that I think that is necessary here!

Google Frontpoint Security. Best protection on the market today in my opinion.

In this morning's Washington Times...

[URL="http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/mar/12/making-the-workplace-friendly-for-felons/"]

We are in the process of prepping our home in Saratoga for sale and hope to move to TV this fall. We will be bringing our 6 year old Dobe with us. He is a sweet boy. A big lap dog and alarm system all in one!

I have Sweetie and Helene.
And Mikey, Harry and...well you know, our TWO cats.

I'm good.

Right on the money! I have spoken to many employers in the area with that problem. People leave for break or lunch and never come back. This place was built with employees like this.

Right on, If they are a Tier III ,their kids could go to the villages school

We are snowflakes right now and I do worry about the house being broken into. Any good ideas of how to secure a cascading slider so it is not easily broker into? I do think Gracie's idea of security cameras and also having motion lights outside lanai would help deter would be intruders. Just a fact of the times I guess, sad to say.

Lot of ideas here..............
Google

The day I have to worry about keeping my doors locked...security cameras, or if I just don't feel safe...that's the day I move. I moved here because of the security. If I lose that, I won't stay.

This incident is noteworthy because it happens fairly rarely. The fact that the homeowner left a door unlocked is germane. I know there are many folks here that came from areas where they could leave their home unlocked without worry, but that is not the case here. Where I lived before, you locked your home before leaving (including a gated fence that accessed the back yard. You always locked your car when not in your garage, even in your own driveway. And we did not live in a high crime area.

From everything I have read about this type of crime in TV, I suspect the vast majority are crimes of opportunity. An unlocked door, someone hired to do work and left unsupervised, or similar. Anything you can do to make it difficult for someone to break in will discourage most of these types.

Well said mikeod. It was also noteworthy as the perpetrator was caught and part of the stolen articles were recovered.

We never leave doors unlocked. I may trust my yard crew but I don't trust my neighbors yard crews. These people are swarming all over our neighborhoods and see many opportunities. I am surprised there aren't more incidents.

It is unsettling when large contractors hire ex cons or felons to do manual labor, however, even though I'm aware that can happen and does happen...........

Our experience here has been that each time we had a major landscaping project, in our town in Vermont, our carpenters and/or plumbers (often both) would work along with our local landscapers, those who did our lawn maintenance and their "friends"....who all were nice decent home grown boys that we just happened to know (as well as their entire families) since they were born.......went to our church, went to our kids' schools, etc..........so we never had to fear any type of criminal activity from them.

The kids that are not college bound end up at the Career Developement Center part of our town's high school.........Horticulture just seems to be a popular course.

Thus, they all end up as landscapers.

When our original guy got old, we hired the little boy (now recently married and a dad) who used to build a tree house next door to our other home in town. I held him in my arms as a baby. Entire family is the salt of the earth, going back to the grandparents and great grandparents.

Ditto for our plumbers..........our original plumber's sons are now doing the work and they also have backhoes......when we need it..........and friends in the landscaping business when we need to "move earth" up on the hill........or "dig".......they all went through horticulture school and we know all their families.......for at least 40 + years.

I can honestly say that not all landscapers hire felons.....at least from our experience.

O.K. so one might say, "Well, Vermont is not Florida"......which is true.

However, our nephew, now 29.......in northern New Jersey....a wonderful boy from a wonderful family who wanted him to go to college........but he chose the Career Developement path as well and took Horticulture in high school......... has his own business. He has the same "crew" he began with ten years ago........they do seem to be sons of recent immigrants.......but they are loyal to him. He's spent the past decade building his business...........and learned to do pavers as well as cement work along with the lawn maintenance and also snow removal/plowing in winter.
For a "kid" labeled as A.D.H.D. at age nine...........he's done o.k. and is saving for his million dollar home at the Jersey shore.

The difference is that again, his clients live in his town and neighboring town, and know him, his parents, his sister and probably go to his church where he hangs his business informational bulletins and such.

I wish people would post here who they feel is the MOST RELIABLE and TRUSTWORTHY landscaping or lawn maintenance guys in The Villages. Maybe a poll and tally it up to see which business gets the most votes.......that would truly be helpful to "newbies".

Our town also has two major landscapers (who began young and are now senior citizens) with very large crews..........we've never heard of any problems with them. They also do "country stone walls" and "country ponds" and all the frills people moving up to Vermont want in their newly constructed homesites.....

They have all the "big boy toys" such as big vacuums for the leaves in the fall, big "blowers" to blow the seed mixed with the fertilizer onto the topsoil on new home lawns........state of the art landscaping , high tech type equipment. We also know them and their immediate families..........so, in a small town, one can feel pretty safe...............although times are changing all over, in many different ways, but that's another topic.

Ditto for the swimming pool installers and maintenance..........they are also all home grown boys......and that also stands for the carpenters in this town.

Senior, you are worrying about something that happens so rarely here as to be noteworthy;a breakin. There are hundreds maybe more of constantly changing men and woman working for many, many, many, landscapers and lawn maintainance folks.

We use Mikes Maintainance home division. They are the ones that The Villages use to maintain all of the common area, but does NOT mean that everyone that works for them is a boy scout, but does mean they have been here for as long as Gary Morse has. Sloanes did the landscaping that came with our house and they did GREAT. They also are contractors for the developers. They certainly don't have much in the area of chit chat and happy talk but they can find their way around planting palm trees and stuff beautifully. I notice they use the design style that interior decor people use, rule of three, dark accent color, pop of bright color etc.etc. Most people over landscape. Everything grows so fast here.

Make a few friends here who appear to have good common sense and follow their direction.

And come on down. I want to learn everything you know about cooking and we can argue as to who has the best and nicest and prettiest grandchildren!