CRIME NEWS: More Neighborhood Break-Ins

Mindy Evans reported two more break-ins in our neighborhood, and Carla Deck replied with some safety precautions from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department. Both notes are below.

Please be advised that two more of our neighbors houses were broken into sometime during the day today while they were at work. The power to both homes was cut from the boxes on the sides of the houses, and back windows were used for entry/exit.

Because TVs and other valubles were stolen, it is believed that there had to have been a car/truck involved as well - if you noticed any large vehicles in the neighborhood today, please let us know. Also - please be diligent on knowing your neighbors and being alert to any suspicious activity in our neighborhood - do not hesitate to call 911 if something seems out of place.

Thank you!

Mindy Evans

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Here’s some information I found on a website that may be worth sharing. I’m open to any other suggestions also.

http://www.charmeck.org/Departments/CMPD/Prevent+Crime/Home+Safety+Information.htm

Home Safety Information

If you are concerned about residential burglaries in your neighborhood, you do not have to feel powerless to change the situation. Most residential burglars look for crimes of opportunity. They pick what appears to be an easy mark. There are many steps that you can take to keep your home and your neighborhood safe. The most important step is for you and your neighbors to work together.

What can you do?

• Never allow people you do not know into your home, such as a door-to-door sales person, a person asking to use the phone or looking for a supposed neighbor.
• Always keep your doors and windows locked day and night.
• Never leave your garage door open.
• Don't have your valuables visible through windows.
• Keep ladders locked in the garage. Burglars can use them for access to otherwise inaccessible second story windows.
• Don't forget when going on vacation to hold or to have someone pick up your mail/newspapers.
• Don't hide a key outside for visiting friends and relatives.
• Don't advertise new gifts or purchases. Break up the cartons before leaving them at the curb.
• Call the police immediately when you see suspicious persons or activities.
• Get to know the police officers in your area.
• If you live in an apartment complex let management know of any problems in the community.
• Start or join a Neighborhood Watch Program
• Learn how to make your home less attractive to criminals.
  
  Security Habits
  Safety Starts at Home
  Vacation Security
  Garage Burglary
  Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design
  
• Make a list of the serial numbers of your property and take photographs. You can also engrave your Driver's license number with an etching tool.
  property List

If you see a burglar in action, get a good description of the person, their car and tag number. Write it down and call the police immediately!

If you are Burglarized:

• Do not enter your house if you return home and find signs that a burglary is taking place or has taken place. Go to a safe place immediately, such as a neighbor's home and call the police.
• If you enter into your home and find evidence of a burglary, call the police immediately. Do not touch anything or move anything around. Give the police a chance to gather evidence that may have been left.
• Try to determine what has been taken and prepare a list of stolen items (with serial numbers if possible) to assist police in their investigation.
• If you would like a police officer to conduct a Security Survey and make suggestions on ways to improve the physical security of your residence please contact us by calling (704) 336-2310 Monday through Friday or you may also reach us through email: crimepreventionunit@cmpd.org

Carla Deck

REMINDER: Water Restrictions Still In Place

In an email to the neighborhood, Holly Stanley (6608 Elfreda) wrote:

Neighbors,

I just want to pass on a friendly reminder that Charlotte-Mecklenburg's water restrictions are still in place. I am passing this on because I noticed one of our neighbors running their sprinkler system two mornings this week (Monday and today) at or before 6 am. I'm not going to call out who it is... you know who you are... but you should know that you will be fined if the county discovers that you're not following the restrictions. Here is the link to the county site that indicates what is restricted and the penalties if caught.

http://www.charmeck.org/Departments/Utilities/WaterSmart/Mandatory+Restrictions%3a+What%27s+Restricted.htm

CRIME NEWS: Hide Garage Door Openers

The following is an article from the Charlotte Observer, sent to the email list by Chris Evans.

Hide garage-door openers, police warn

Coordinated thefts 'a new phenomenon'

VANESSA WILLIS, vwillis@charlotteobserver.com

Thieves in southern Mecklenburg County have stolen garage-door openers from cars and used them to break into houses -- a method of coordination not seen before in the Charlotte area, police say.

Since March 19, thieves have broken into four vehicles parked at Ballantyne-area businesses to steal garage-door openers and then immediately rob the owners' homes. They used information from each vehicle's registration card to locate the houses, said Detective Steve Simono of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police.

"This is a new phenomenon," he said. "We always talk about locking up laptops and not leaving iPods and GPS systems in plain view, but I guess it needs to extend to garage-door openers. It's something I had never put a lot of thought into."

On March 19, thieves broke into a car outside Zapata's Mexican Cantina at Ballantyne Commons East. The owner's home off of Sharon Road was robbed shortly afterward.

Also that day, a car was robbed outside Ilios Noche restaurant off Providence Road near I-485. Then the thieves broke into the owner's Weddington home.

"The lady came in and had lunch at my restaurant, and they stole her cell phone and her garage-door opener out of her car," said Ilios Noche owner Stratos Lambos. "She got home and thought it was odd that she couldn't find her opener, and then realized her house had been robbed." Lambos said he has invited the woman back to the restaurant for a free dinner.

"It's something to worry about, that people would do such a thing in broad daylight, with people coming and going to the shops and the grocery store in our shopping center," he said. "I'm worried about crime because of the economy, but overall we've felt safe here."

On March 20, thieves broke into a car at Ballantyne Corporate Park and then robbed the owner's home off Rea Road.

The most recent incident, on Tuesday, started in the parking lot at Macaroni Grill at the Promenade on Providence, and ended at the vehicle owner's home in Union County. Because of the short time span between the vehicle and home break-ins, Simono said he believes the thieves are coordinated.

"We're surmising that they have a GPS, or at least an old-fashioned map book," he said. "It's a real gamble they're taking, because someone else could be at the homes."

The thieves have taken items including remote-control model airplanes, tools and a chain saw from the victims' homes and garages. In one case, the thieves set off a home alarm system and left without taking anything, Simono said.

Simono recommends that drivers stow their garage-door openers where they can't be seen and easily accessed -- such as in the trunk -- or take the openers with them.

He also said there's no evidence linking these incidents to a series of more than 50 home break-ins across south Charlotte in the winter. Thieves kicked in several homes' front doors and stole expensive items including electronics. Police have made a few arrests in connection with those incidents and credit watchful neighbors for helping them prevent additional break-ins.

CRIME NEWS: Nearby Robbery

In an email forwarded to the neighborhood, Marion Scherger (2302 Oberwood) wrote:

I was just walking our dog Cooper and on the corner of Providence Road And Outerbridge --Providence Commons -- I witnessed a robbery taking place -- 4 black males loading stuff in the back of a tan suv -- the alarm was going off and the dog was in the back yard.

I called 911 and reported it.

CRIME NEWS: Activity Near Our Neighborhood

The following is an article from the Charlotte Observer, sent to the email list by Chris Evans.

Robbery, then Providence Rd. chase

STEVE LYTTLE, slyttle@charlotteobserver.com

An alleged robbery in an uptown Charlotte club turned into a police pursuit that ended off Providence Road in southeast Charlotte overnight. The suspect remains at large and was last seen on a street off Providence Road, not far from McAlpine Creek.

According to police, a patron said he was robbed by a man in the restroom at the club Crush, in the 300 block of East Stonewall Street, shortly before 2 a.m. When police arrived, the patron spotted the suspect, driving in a grey Mercury.

That set off a police pursuit that went down Providence Road. Police say the suspect jumped out of the getaway vehicle on Summit Walk Drive, off Providence Road, about halfway between Fairview and Alexander roads.

Police called in their K-9 dog search unit but were not able to find the suspect. According to police, there were no wrecks and no injuries in the robbery and pursuit. Police have not released a description of the suspect.

CRIME NEWS: Various Nearby Communities

Chris Evans (Neighborhood Watch, 6523 Elfreda) forwarded along to the mailing list the following string of emails from various nearby neighborhoods.

Please Note: I've edited them a little, cutting out the various email addresses as well as irrelevant (to us) information, but have left in any and all details regarding the crimes themselves (since these details may help in crime prevention or future arrests).

Since this is an email chain, it likely will make more sense to read from the bottom up.

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Evans, Chris
Thu, Mar 20, 2008 at 11:29 AM
To: kellersglenALL@kellersglen.org

LOTS OF BREAKINS IN NEAR BY COMMUNITIES IN THE LAST SEVERAL DAYS/WEEKS (SELWYN FARMS, COTSWOLD, DILWORTH, MYERS PARK)…..BE ALERT

BELOW IS AN EMAIL CHAIN FROM SEVERAL COMMUNITIES/CO-WORKERS IN THESE AREAS AND THEIR STORIES. SEVERAL HAVE ALREADY BEGUN HIRING PRIVATE SECURITY FORCES TO PATROL THEIR NEIGHBORHOODS….PERHAPS THIS IS SOMETHING WE SHOULD EXPLORE WITH THE NEARBY NEIGHBORHOODS???

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From: Angela Hardison
To: rsprague@cmpd.org ; apharr1@cmpd.org ; jwing@cmpd.org ; jgilliland@cmpd.org ; gsmith@cmpd.org ; kdavis14@carolina.rr.com
Sent: Thursday, March 20, 2008 10:46 AM
Subject: Selwyn Farms

Here's my story... I live 6 or 7 houses down from Katherine at 3415 Selwyn Farms Lane and I arrived home on Tuesday around 6:30 to find the door between my garage and house open. I didn't think I left it open, but thought it was possible so I went in the house to find several of my kitchen cabinets open. Still doubting myself, I thought that maybe I did that and didn't remember, because there is no way someone would break into a house with 100+ pound dog.

I went in my den and saw that my TV was there and thought I was fine. When I started to go upstairs I found a dust bag from a purse laying on the stairs. At that point I grabbed my dog and ran outside and called the police.

I told the police that I wasn't sure if someone was in my house or not and it took them 20+ minutes to get there. Good thing there wasn't someone in my house because in that amount of time they could have seriously hurt me.

The robbers kicked in my dining room window which is on the back of the house, off the deck. They basically just stepped off of the deck into the house through this window. They ransacked my entire house and threw EVERYTHING out of EVERY drawer in my house.

They also went in my attic and through all of the bags in my closet. I still haven't finished surveying the damage, but from what I can tell so far, they took a gun (which my father bought me after the last time my house was broken into), a very expensive purse and all of it's contents, diamond earings, a ring, and a necklace. They left all of my electronics, my laptop, and the rest of my jewelry.

It is so unbeleivable to me that they came into my house and apparently stayed awhile with my 100+ lb dog!!!! He generally scares people!! I think we should hire a security guard to patrol the neighborhood... I truly hope that this doesn't happen to anyone else. It is a terrifying experience to think about someone being in your house and going though your things, or worse.

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From: kdavis14@carolina.rr.com
To: rsprague@cmpd.org; apharr1@cmpd.org; jwing@cmpd.org; jgilliland@cmpd.org; gsmith@cmpd.org
Subject: Fw: URGENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! TWO break-ins in Selwyn Farms Neighborhood on Wednesday, March 19th
Date: Thu, 20 Mar 2008 09:45:55 -0400

I am on the phone with Angie Hardison right now and she was completely robbed at 3415 Selwyn Farms Lane on Tuesday. She lives about 6 or 7 houses down from me and they robbed her with her over 100 lb. dog IN THE HOUSE! They THEN came back and robbed her NEIGHBOR 2 houses up yesterday. SO that is 3 that I know of in 2 days.

So, who will it be today?

Angie is going to email you her story in detail right now.

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From: Katherine Davis
To: Sprague, Robert A. ; jgilliland@cmpd.org ; jwing@cmpd.org ; Pharr, Anthony ; gsmith@cmpd.org
Sent: Thursday, March 20, 2008 9:07 AM
Subject: URGENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! TWO break-ins in Selwyn Farms Neighborhood on Wednesday, March 19th

Good morning Officer's Smith, Pharr, Wing, Gilliland and Sprague! I hope you are well.

First and foremost, thank you for what you do and for protecting us and putting your lives on the line DAILY to protect our citizens and streets. This email is NOT directed at you personally, obviously, but I am BEYOND FED UP!

This robbery happened four houses down from my house (I am at 3317 Selwyn Farms Lane) yesterday. I actually drove by their house at 3pm and saw a police officer in their driveway and knew something was up. Great, now they are over here, again. Do you have any suspects, descriptions, cars you can identify, etc? I need to know. I always keep a watch out when I am home for strange cars circling the neighborhood and trust me, all of us in Selwyn Farms KNOW one another, our cars and who does and DOES NOT live here. I followed 2 cars around the neighborhood at 9pm one night this summer as they were casing houses until they sped out of the neighborhood. Stupid I know, but I wanted them to know that someone was watching them. I did call the police as well.

I can not accept an answer to just attend a neighborhood monthly meeting. While we are all there (and obviously these criminals know when we are, they AREN'T total idiots) they could just have a free for all in our homes. To me I would like to attend meetings, but that is NOT the answer as these neighborhood meetings have been going on for years and the crimes just get worse.

This has become a DAILY occurrence where I am hearing of a friend, neighbor, or work associate being victimized.

Do we have to pay out of our pockets like the folks did on Maryland Avenue and get cops to patrol the street all day? I need suggestions. Not the basic ones that we already all know about. What ELSE CAN BE DONE? Surveillance cameras? I am about to resort to that. I am just waiting for more of them to come back today as they ALWAYS do as they have been scouting out THIS neighborhood "Selwyn Farms" I am sure for some time.

Not to mention that this is Easter weekend/Spring Break so this ought to be a really successful weekend for these criminals victimizing innocent people.

What can you tell me about the robberies on my street yesterday. I have a right to know.

Thank in advance for the details, the report that you will be sending me and any advice on protecting our homes that you can give.

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From: Stephanie Sneed
Sent: Thursday, March 20, 2008 12:39 AM
Subject: TWO break-ins in Selwyn Farms Neighborhood on Wednesday

Hi everyone,

I hate to spread more bad news, but TWO MORE HOUSES were robbed in Selwyn Farms neighborhood today. One house was on Selwyn Farms Lane and the other was on my cul-de-sac, Mill Creek Lane. The one in my cul-de-sac happened while the owner was at work. They came in the gate to the backyard and then broke a window to get in the house. The police were interviewing all the neighbors to see if anyone had seen anything.

Please be careful this weekend, especially if you are going out of town for Spring Break or Easter.

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From: Katherine Davis
Sent: Wednesday, March 19, 2008 8:39 AM
Subject: Fw: Break in-Criminal activity in our Neighborhoods. I am VERY concerned!!!

I am fed up with all of these break in's, attempted break in's etc... I mean, do we need to hire someone to sit in our homes during the day to stand guard to protect our home and belongings? These guys have NO FEAR and to even be ringing doorbells at 1:45 am KNOWING that people are more than likely home. It's just scary.

Also, being that many of you may have children and are traveling for Spring Break/Easter it would be a good idea to be EXTRA cautious and hire someone to stay at your home while you are gone and even notify the community officer in your neighborhood that you will be gone so that maybe they can do extra drive bys. I imagine this will be a BUSY weekend for the thugs.

Also Charlotte is now ranked 8th in break in's and burglaries in the US. NICE.

I think the more concerned emails that they get the better, so if you want to contact the Community Officer in your neighborhood, the information is below specific to the area in which you live.

Here also is an email that Jessica Shore sent me about yet another "crime", attempted break in, etc. in Cotswold on Saturday night...

"Heather, I think you probably need to hear about an incident that occurred last night at our home so you may make others aware of what happened. At about 1:45 am last night, our doorbell rang 4 times back to back. Our dogs went bonkers, and Patrick and I both jumped out of the bed immediately to see what was going on. As I peered through some blinds in the front of the house, I saw an African-American male standing at our front door. He was quite tall, fairly young, dressed in predominantly black from what I remember. We immediately called 911. As we waited for the police, we were not able to see where the man went - the police arrived, looked around, and found nothing (with the exception of the still wet footprints at our front door).

I stayed awake for a good while afterwards, as I was unable to settle down from the incident, and around 3:15 I heard a car door shut. When I got up to look outside, I saw a white Pontiac Bonneville (5-10 yrs old) slowing down on Andover Road heading up towards Danbury. Within moments, the car had turned around and came back to the 3-way stop at Ansley Court. While the car was stopped at the stop sign I saw a male figure running across the street from the Vest's house and up into the yard of another neighbor. The white Pontiac then pulled over in front of that house, I assume the man got in the car, and they drove on up Andover towards Providence. I called 911 again, one of the same officers came back out, and this time had at least a description of a car to look for. I never heard another word and have no idea what happened after that... please, please just know the car we should be looking out for... Thanks so much for getting this information out there."

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From: Sprague, Robert A.
To: Katherine Davis
Sent: Friday, March 14, 2008 2:15 PM
Subject: RE: Break in-Criminal activity in our Neighborhoods. I am VERY concerned!!!

[Non-Keller's Glen-related information deleted]

The crime stats for each of these neighborhoods can be obtained by going to http://www.cmpd.org/ and going under the crime mapping heading. Follow the directions and you can access all the information. The officers that cover this area as the community officer would also be able to access the information; however we would encourage you to check out the website first. I would encourage residents of Charlotte to go to the CMPD website as many of the safety/protection advice can be obtained from the website, printed off and distributed.

Officer R. Sprague
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department
Providence Division
SWAT/CNT/PTO
704-943-2483
rsprague@cmpd.org

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From: Katherine Davis [mailto:kdavis14@carolina.rr.com]
Sent: Thursday, March 13, 2008 10:14 AM
To: Sprague, Robert A.; jmcneary@gmail.com; Pharr, Anthony; chrism@stevensoffice.com
Subject: Break in-Criminal activity in our Neighborhoods. I am VERY concerned!!!

Good morning Officer's Sprague, McNeary and Pharr! I hope that you are well.

I wanted to express MAJOR concern that I have about criminal activity going on in our neighborhoods that seemed to have gotten completely out of control as of late.

I am Katherine Davis and I grew up in Charlotte in Myers Park where my parents currently reside. I live in Sedgefield and my fiancé lives in Dilworth. I have MANY friends that live in Cotswold as well. The reason that I mention this to you AND that I forward you this email is that we all below are COMPLETELY worried, concerned, scared, FED UP, mad, and SICK of these break ins going on in ALL of our back yards.

I have known FOUR FRIENDS that have had either an attempted break in, been robbed face to face or had a home broken into in the last 2-6 months.

#1 A friend of mine's mom was robbed of her purse RIGHT IN front of her house on Poindexter, right in front of Sedgefield Middle School two weeks ago this past Tuesday. Two black males pulled up to her in BROAD day light when she was getting out of her car, acted as if they were asking for directions and then one got out of the car, pushed her down and took her purse.

#2 Another friend's boyfriend that lives on Wrenwood in Coltswold was COMPLETELY robbed in July 2007 about a week after he moved in his house. We can all put two and two together to KNOW that was in inside job with the movers. Sorry, but that one was too obvious.

#3 Another friend's condo was JUST robbed (the person in the email below) at Park West Drive on Tuesday at 10am. These guys had just broken in 6 weeks before and shocker, went back. They seem to not have ANY fear whatsoever, and know that they will not be caught. Jeff's alarm was going off, the police were called and Jeff was there in 20 minutes and he said it took the police from the time the alarm company notified them until when they arrived, 25 minutes to get there. Why would that be the case?

#4 A friend of mine that lives at 1337 WENDOVER PARK LN, had an attempted robbery at her home. The rang the doorbell, waited and when she yelled at them from an upstairs window, they left immediately. Two black males driving an SUV (here is description as you already know I bet) a dark grey SUV with a small yellow/orange oval sticker on the back left window. The tag had all red letters and numbers. I guess it was a Tahoe or a Yukon. It wasn't as big as a Suburban. It wasn't a Ford nor Cadillac for sure. One of the guys did have longer hair, that might have been dreads.

I am told that there are a TEAM of guys doing this and they stand at posts on blocks up and down the street just to watch out for cops coming so they won't get busted.

These are just a few of many that I can mention.

What are we supposed to do besides, set alarms, reinforce doors, make sure you make it look like someone is home, etc...?

Thank you so much in advance for your advice. I want these guys CAUGHT and want to protect myself and my neighbors and there HAVE to be some solutions that we can come up with together.

Stay safe and best regards,

Katherine Davis

============================

From: Faino, Jeff
Sent: Thursday, March 13, 2008 8:54 AM
Subject: RE: Today

I don't mind sharing at all.......

On Tuesday, March 11th at 10am my condo at Park West Drive was broken into for the 2nd time in 6 weeks. They kicked down my front door (although it took several attempts because I had the door frame reinforced after the 1st break-in). The alarm was going off and ADT called my cell phone. I was home in about 20 minutes, and waited another 15 minutes for the police to arrive. They stole my Apple laptop (new purchase since the last break-in), iPod, iPod speakers, digital camera, my work briefcase, and my backpack (they haven't taken my sanity yet but we're close). My neighbor to my right was also broken into, again by kicking in the front door. A laptop, jewelry, and a combo TV/DVD/VCR were stolen. She did not have an alarm.

The 1st break-in was on January 23rd, also at 10am. Three units were hit, all by kicking in the front door. One unit had a 50-inch plasma stolen (a neighbor saw two black men walk out the front steps and load it into a Blue SUV). The second unit had a laptop stolen. In my unit they stole $300 in change.

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From: Katherine Davis [mailto:kdavis14@carolina.rr.com]
Sent: Thursday, March 13, 2008 8:14 AM
Subject: Re: Today

For those that I just added to the email,..This was an attempted robbery in the Cotswold area off Wendover...A description of the SUV (probably stolen) and thugs below. Also someone was robbed on Tuesday afternoon in the new town homes on Park Road across from Dilworth Heights and that took practically all of their valuables.

I think that this is all gang related and an entire TEAM of guys doing this. Also it was brought to my attention that they have other guys standing at different blocks to warn the THUGS if someone is coming. This is not just two guys, HAS to be a LOT of them together working in teams. Nice.

I think if we all start emailing the officer's in our neighborhoods and express our concerns (ESPECIALLY that it took FREAKIN 20-25 minutes for the police to get to this person's home when they were robbed Tuesday with alarms going off and everything) and that we want to DO SOMETHING, whether it be an organized neighborhood meeting or what not, it would be a good idea. They need to hear our concerns, address what THEY are doing to protect our home and neighborhoods, and the more emails that they get the better!

============================

From: Anna Lemonds <annalemonds@yahoo.com>
Sent: Wed Mar 12 20:59:28 2008
Subject: Re: Today

It was a dark grey SUV with a small yellow/orange oval sticker on the back left window. The tag had all red letters and numbers. I guess it was a Tahoe or a Yukon. It wasnt as big as a Suburban. It wasnt a Ford nor Cadillac for sure.

One of the guys did have longer hair, that might have been dreads. I was at a funny angle so it was hard for me to see.

============================

From: Anna Lemonds <annalemonds@yahoo.com>
Sent: Wed Mar 12 20:08:56 2008
Subject: Re: Today

Yes, I am already a freak and now I am done. The guys were African American, no older than 35. They were dressed like criminals so I knew immediately they were up to no good!

============================

From: Anna Lemonds [mailto:annalemonds@yahoo.com]
Sent: Wednesday, March 12, 2008 5:02 PM
Subject: Today

I wanted to pass this along especially for those that are home alone during the day. This morning around 9:30, two men attempted to break in my house. I heard a knock at the door that I didn't answer. They left after I yelled out an upstairs window. The police told me I should park my car in the driveway and not in the garage. They suggested putting some of the kids' toys in the driveway. Also, they reminded me of how important it is to report everything-big or small.

CRIME NEWS: Providence Road Break-Ins

One of our Kellers Glen neighbors writes:

Two break-ins occurred yesterday [03/19/08] around 10am in Providence Commons. On one, the door had been broken down and a variety of costly possessions were stolen. Another house was also burglarized. The neighbors next to this [second] house were home at the time, and a white pick-up truck was spotted, which may have belonged to the perpetrators.

CRIME NEWS: Elfreda Road Break-In

Sorry all for being a bit slack in posting this -- many of you likely have heard the news already, either through the email that Chris Evans sent to the community on Friday March 7, or during the HOA meeting this past Monday (3/10).

Whatever the case, here's the note from Chris. If you have any information pertaining to this, please reach out to Chris (neighborhoodwatch@kellersglen.org) and/or Officer David Cristy via email (dcristy@cmpd.org), or by calling 911.


Yesterday (Thursday, March 6), I returned home from work at 5:30 to find someone had kicked in my back door and robbed our house. The thieves were “careful” to remove/kick in only the glass/not open the door as to not set off my alarm (that problem will be fixed today: Mindy and I are upgrading to full motion detectors, cameras, door sensors, etc).

I have no idea when the crime took place, but I assume that since it was during the day, a time when many are at work, that the thieves were more interested in material possessions/not getting caught than trying to harm anyone physically. That being said, this crime was committed in broad daylight. Nothing can be done about this incident, and material possession can be replaced, but please be vigilant as you come and go throughout the neighborhood; we should all have a good idea who looks questionable (especially running down the road with my jewelry box and electronics). As always, call 911 to report any suspicious activity. Thanks.

REMINDER: Leash & Poop Scoop Laws

Just sharing a note that Jill forward to the community via email last week. -- B.J.


I am passing along an email from a fellow resident. Please read and be respectful of your neighbor's property when walking your dogs around the neighborhood.

Thank you,

Jill Tan


Original Message:

Dear Association,

I am a resident on Oberwood Dr. and their has been a recurrent issue that I have been dealing with, four times to be exact. Someone has been walking their dog without a leash and allowing it to defecate in my front yard, in the bushes along the driveway.

I am asking you to please send out a copy of the leash and poop scoop law which can be printed out from the charmeck.org website - under animal control - to all the neighbors and remind them that it is against the law to walk your dog without a leash and not pick up poop.

It would be easier to just call animal control but as a courteous neighbor I feel this individual may not be aware of the law. I would appreciate it, it's getting really tiresome picking up after such a callous non-caring dog owner's crap.