White Rock police are investigating yet another break-in involving a homeowner waking to find a stranger in the house.
The incident is among several in the past four months that can be attributed to unlocked doors or windows, Sgt. Roland Pierscke said. Repeated messages reminding residents to secure their homes and valuables are not getting through, he said.
“We try and educate; doesn’t mean we can make it work,” Pierschke said.
The latest incident occurred around 3 a.m. March 10 in the 14100-block of Marine Drive, when a male gained access to a home through an unlocked door.
The culprit, described only as about five-foot-10 inches tall, and dressed in black, fled with a laptop, a BlackBerry Pearl and a Garmin GPS.
A similar report was made just after 1 a.m. Feb. 19, after a culprit entered a first-floor Foster Street apartment through an unlocked sliding door; and again on Jan. 31, after a woman in the 15100-block of Columbia Avenue discovered items had been taken while she showered.
Thieves walked away with electronics from two unlocked homes Nov. 30.
Other incidents this month have also been attributed to easy access. A Dell laptop and a black iPod dock were stolen in a daylight break-in March 8 in the 14700-block of McDonald Avenue, after residents left a bathroom window open.
Last week, the threat of a large dog did little to deter an opportunistic thief. In fact, a dog door cut to give the family pet freer access worked to the culprit’s advantage, police say.
Pierschke said police investigating an overnight break-in in the 15100-block of Royal Avenue March 9 determined the culprit entered and left the home through the dog door.
“You don’t read about that everyday,” Pierscke said.
He noted unlike many other recent break-ins, every other access point to the house was locked.
The thief got away with a black Macbook and a Bose CD/Radio player.
Pierschke said police have no evidence to suggest the break-ins are the work of the same person or persons. However, “generally, if we catch one or two (culprits), we’ll probably solve three or four (break-ins).”
Anyone with information on any of the incidents is asked to contact police at 778-593-3600.