Nighttime burglaries of waterfront homes continued over the weekend, with the spree spreading from Pleasant Beach to the South Beach and Crystal Springs neighborhoods.
Those incidents, together with three others in Blakely Heights – daytime “door kick-ins” that may not be related – brings to 14 the burglaries reported at the south end in the past 10 days.
Total dollar loss in cash and personal property totals $25,000, according to police reports.
In most incidents, the burglar entered homes through unlocked doors while the owners were asleep upstairs.
Residents often have discovered the burglaries by finding a door ajar in the morning; other reports have filtered in as homeowners returned from travel.
“Our burglar seems to be kind of announcing the fact that he’s been in the house by leaving the door open,” said Scott Anderson, Bainbridge Police detective. “If he closed the door, a lot of these victims wouldn’t know they’ve been burglarized, or would be thinking they’ve mislaid their purse somewhere.
“It’s almost like his signature, a way of showing off.”
In one South Beach break-in, the burglar is believed to have entered an upstairs bedroom window, by way of a trellis on an outside wall.
The burglar has generally targeted cash and other small items, although a flat-screen television was stolen from an unlocked vacation home on Pleasant Beach.
Camera equipment and jewelry has also been reported stolen. Also in one weekend theft, a valuable ornamental egg was taken.
More typically, purses are taken from downstairs areas, emptied of cash and discarded on the lawn.
The three break-ins in Blakely Heights don’t seem to fit the pattern, Anderson said, but are being investigated at the same time because of proximity.
Police caution residents to keep doors and windows locked, and to call police to report unusual circumstances around their homes.
During the break-ins a week ago, one resident heard someone trying the outside doorknob; in another, a person was seen crouching between two cars in a driveway. In neither case were police called.
“They thought it was suspicious, but not enough to call 911,” Anderson said. “We’re asking people to put that threshold very, very low. If you see anything suspicious, please call 911 and let us come check it out.”
