May 17, 2007

Montevideo residents on alert after burglaries

By Jeanne Carbone Lewis
Staff Writer

A recent rash of burglaries has Monte-video residents concerned.

“One burglary happened on a Sunday morning when [our neighbors] left for church,” said Montevideo resident Karen Landgraf. “Another resident’s house was broken into on a Friday morning when they were gone.”

Three separate daytime burglaries were reported when residents left their homes. Police say the suspect entered and stole jewelry, cash and other small items in the Montevideo area.

The San Jose Police Department investigated several reports of incidents in the Meridian Avenue and Camden Avenue area and arrested one suspect in connection to burglaries. Charles Morgan, who was in possession of stolen items, was arrested April 27 and as of May 14 was still in police custody. He is a white male in his 40s with light-colored hair and had been seen driving a large white SUV. Anyone with information on the burglaries is urged to call SJPD burglary unit Det. Bob Froese at 277-4401.

“We have connected the property in this case to four other victims,” said SJPD Southern Division commander Capt. Dave Cavallaro. “And we’re still working on the case. We’ve also made an arrest for auto burglaries.”

On May 4, suspects Albert Siems, Matthew Orcutt and Luke Ebling were arrested for auto burglary in the area of Wallace and Meadowood drives. Det. Bob Froese said the suspects have been linked to four other cases and that the investigation is ongoing.

A check of SJPD computer-aided dispatch reveals that burglaries in the southern division, which includes Almaden, are up from January to April [the last reported month]. There were 1,759 burglaries reported during 2006 and 1,918 for 2007. Auto burglaries are lower in the same time frame: 1,070 for 2006 and 897 for 2007.

“Folks need to realize that we don’t live in Mayberry,” said Capt. Cavallaro. “We’re the 10th biggest city in the U.S. People need to take basic precautions. Ideally we want to prevent crime and educate the community.”

Capt. Cavallaro suggests that doors and windows should be kept locked and citizens should keep an eye out for strangers and suspicious vehicles in their neighborhoods and to call 9-1-1 when they see these types of people and autos. “Trust your intuition,” said Capt. Cavallaro.

Other precautions suggested include trimming shrubs away from homes and installing motion sensor lights to eliminate hiding places. He also encourages residents to form neighborhood watch groups where neighbors watch out for each other.