Halloween Persuades Real Bandits To Burglarize and Steal Safes
There have been several break-ins in multiple stores around the country. With Halloween coming up and everyone preparing for the weekend fun, it’s no wonder why thieves are deciding to raid stores, specifically Halloween stores. It’s the obvious target for a thief since many people are spending money on costumes, decorations, masks, props and other Halloween accessories. If you run a store yourself, even if it’s not Halloween-related, then you should prepare for the worse. There have been multiple break-ins and thefts nationwide in October alone coming into the Halloween weekend. Make sure you have the necessary security and safety equipment to prevent such disasters.
About a week ago in Northern Michigan, there were two break-ins at two different Halloween costume stores. One was located in Traverse City and another in Petoskey where both stores were raided and thousands of dollars in cash and valuables were stolen. On a Monday evening in Traverse City, the County Sheriff’s reported that the burglar gained access inside by breaking in through the back entrance. From there the thief was able to carry out two large safes. Then the following Tuesday night in Petoskey, another safe was stolen at that location. One of the employees of the Halloween Stores, Joe Richie, commented saying, “Just the fact that somebody out there didn’t work for it, took the easy way out and took from someone else.” The investigators of this crime scene noticed that the suspects who raided the stores were familiar with the operations of the store and knew the exact location of the safes. A few days later, the two suspects were arrested and charged for stealing the safes and other merchandise from both Halloween stores. Officers from Petoskey were working with Charlevoix County Sheriff’s Office where the two men were from. From the information that was gathered they were able to issue a search warrant at one of the homes located in Charlevoix County. From there the items were recovered from both the 22-year-old and 32-year-old suspects, both residing in Charlevoix. Fortunately, the officers were able to obtain most of the missing items and the safes that were stolen.
Recently, the police are looking for the suspect who raided several fast-food restaurants and was able to break into at least 30 different safes in North Texas. Surveillance cameras have caught the suspect breaking into a Bedford Subway sandwich shop. Officers have said that the man has attempted to break into the shops at least five times. The investigators have tagged the suspect as the “Subway Bandit,” as he broke into many different sandwich shops. But they also figured out he was also involved in many other restaurant break-ins. One of the Bedford police Lt. Kirk Roberts said, “He knows what he’s doing, he knows how to not leave evidence behind. And once he gains entry, he knows what to do to make things difficult for us.” The investigators are hoping that the surveillance tapes will provide enough evidence and information to arrest the thief. Lt. Kirk Roberts added about the footage, “These are pretty good, somebody is going to know him if they see him.” The “Subway Bandit” has robbed fast-food restaurants in Allen, McKinney, Plano, Denton, Garland, Irving, Arlington Bedford, Colleyville and Grapevine.
Theater Burglarized, 2nd Theft in the Past Week in South Carolina
There was another crime scene that was reported just a few days ago after another similar burglary occurred just a few days ago before this one at the Seafare Restaurant. Both burglaries are similar, but no official word has been reported if the two are indeed connected. The Conway Police Department needs help from the residents of South Carolina to identify two suspects that raided a theater.
Catina Hipp, who is a spokeswoman for the Conway Police Department, reported that officers responded to a burglary scene at Frank’s Theater, which is located at 220 Rivertown Rd. that occurred around noon on Monday. The manager told the officers that when he arrived at the burglary scene, he saw the office door damaged and the safe cut open. When the officers began investigating the crime scene, they discovered the exterior light and alarm system were disabled.
The police were able to examine the surveillance footage and found that the two suspects forced their way into the office. As they gained access inside, there were seen disabling the security system and then cutting into a large safe around 3:42 a.m. Monday morning. The suspects were dressed in dark clothing with hoods and masks to conceal their identities. A second smaller safe was also broken into, as they were seen removing the hinges and was located in the main office. A machine full of change was also broken into during the time of the burglary.
All in all, a total of about $6,000 was stolen plus $6,000 more in damages alone. Hipp discovered that one of the suspects had been carrying a bag on their left shoulder, while the other suspect was holding a tool in their right hand. Hipp mentioned that the officers are still in the process of obtaining all the surveillance videos to examine the footage. As soon as they become available, they will release some of the stills to the public by showing it through their local news station WMBF, to help with the investigation.
This has been the second burglary that had occurred within the past week. The same break in was approached with a similar fashion in disabling the security systems and then gaining access into the office to cut open the safes. Before this incident occurred, two other men were caught on a surveillance tape that showed them disabling the security system and raiding the Seafare Restaurant in which they also cut open safes stealing an estimated amount of $20,000. However, no connection has been made yet with the two burglaries.
“A-Team” Locked Behind Bars for 32 Years for Theft and Burglary
The man behind the scenes is William Castle. He was living a wealthy life filled with expensive family cruises, sporting designer clothes and luxury items bought for his home all while still satisfying his gambling habit. He enjoyed the lavish life apparently living off just benefits.
It was a very deceiving lifestyle, as the 50-year-old man was paying for all his extravagance through stealing from businesses across Hampshire and southern England. However, William Castle didn’t do it alone, as he was assisted by a group of trusted “lieutenants,” Castle managed to steal more than £250,000, which is equivalent to about $409,250.00 in U.S. currency in cash, plus goods by breaking into warehouses, shops, restaurants and a garden centre.
The team even managed to steal a safe from Winchester’s InTech science centre – a charity-run museum that works with schools across Hampshire. The team was no ordinary and inexperienced group. They raided the areas wearing dark hooded tops and balaclavas where they would cut phone lines, destroyed CCTV cameras, removed alarms off walls and cover smoke detectors to avoid being disturbed and detected.
They would often operate during the dark and after hours, they used angle grinders to cut their way into safes and steal whatever they found from tons of copper piping, iPods and electrical goods to Argos jewelry. Apparently they were compared to the “A-Team,” a popular television show during the 1980s where the members of the team would perform outlandish stunts.
However, the police caught up to the group of criminals after watching Castle, and through phone records, DNA evidence and CCTV footage, they were able to prove that all six group members were involved in the crimes. Today, Castle and his team are behind bars after being jailed for a total of 32 years.
After being caught with stealing the safe from InTech, Castle was pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit burglary and money laundering. He was only receiving £200 a night from his Jobseekers’ allowance, yet he was able to pay for a family trip to the Canary Islands as well as another cruise later in the year that totaled to £6,000. Not only did he manage to pay for those expensive cruises, but even managed to throw away £85,000 in gambling in just seven months. The estimated total of stolen goods was £300,000 plus the ten of thousands of pounds of damage done to the properties they destroyed.
Judge Gary Burrell described Castle as the “career criminal” who was the “ringleader” of the gang, responsible for organizing and initiating the burglaries. He said that Castle was even going to commit even more burglaries as they were “daring risk taking” that he found “breathtaking.” The judge also described one of the crime scenes at the Argos Store as an “extremely audacious attack” where access to the building was “like something from the A-Team through skylight.”
Domestic Worker Disappears After Stealing Valuables from Safes
Magdaleen Williams also known as Katie or Ann was known to be a “great” domestic worker making sure everything was clean and neat with efficiency. However, she isn’t quite the “great” worker her employer’s thought she ought to be. Williams allegedly broke into her employer’s safe stealing jewelry and other valuable items before disappearing.
On Sunday, Williams was caught and arrested by the Kraaifontein police at her home in Scottsdene, northern Cape Town, in front of her family and neighbors. They were shocked to see that she would be a suspect of such a foolish crime.
Two of her former employers, who remain anonymous, have claimed that she stole jewelry from both of them with a combined value of R80000, which is the currency of South Africa. That’s about $12,000 in U.S. currency.
A Kraaifontein police spokesman Warrant Officer Louise Strydom said that Williams would be appearing in the Kuilsriver Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday with a bail of R500.
“She was arrested in 2008 in Durbanville for theft, but the matter was withdrawn. However, the investigating officer is following up on other leads as it is believed she had committed similar crimes elsewhere,” said Strydom.
One of William’s employers hired her in March where she worked from 8:30am to 2:30pm for R150 a day.
“My mother had a stroke just before the Easter weekend. My husband and I packed our bags to fly to Johannesburg to see her. That is when we discovered that our safe had been emptied of all our jewelry, including my daughter’s platinum wedding and engagement rings and even my Fossil watch. It was valued at about R40000 ($6,000).
She said that Williams had also worked in several other homes in Cape Town’s northern suburbs. According to the police, Williams had sold the jewelry at a pawnshop. “She came across as so trustworthy. I am devastated at what happened to me. It feels like my generosity has been abused.”
Williams also worked for another Durbanville resident last November. “I discovered that she had stolen jewelry valued at R40000 – five bracelets, chains, gold bangles, earrings, and even my grandchild’s little bangle. Police arrested her, but I decided to withdraw the charges and we agreed that she would repay me R500 a month,” said Williams’ other ex-employer.
Protecting Your Valuables From Theft
This month, there was a burglary that occurred in Idaho Falls, Idaho. The most typical burglary that you see in movies, yet you never expect it could happen to you. The police had investigated a home burglary where they are looking for the suspects who stole jewelry, cash and two safes. The homeowner came home to a broken patio door that happened around 9:30pm on a Tuesday night. The officers said that the suspects threw clothes and other items around the master bedroom before finding and taking jewelry, cash, and two small safes from the home. The police were even called into a home on a Wednesday afternoon from a burglary alarm, where they found a broken window on a back door to the home. The homeowner found kitchen cabinets, drawers and previously locked doors open. The owner reported that jewelry and cash had been stolen.
Both of these burglaries are a prime example why you can never be too careful. These exact break-ins can happen anywhere at anytime. What is even more surprising is that these burglaries took place during primetime hours, not early morning or late at night. That’s why having a high security safe is necessary in keeping your valuable items safe and protected.
A high security safe has all the features you need in order to keep your documents, jewelry, cash and other items protected. The different features a high security safe provides is that it’s fire-resistant. The all-steel construction of the safe provides durability and strength all while being able to withstand extreme temperatures of heat. The door of a high security safe is constructed with a barrier of outer and inner plates enclosed with fire resistant material.
Most importantly, the high security safe is theft resistant. With an all-steel construction the burglar will have his hands full trying to crack open the safe. The high security safe has electronic lock protection, which is also protected by a drill-resistant hard plate preventing any type of drilling through the safes. The high security safe also uses massive 1 ¼’’ diameter live locking bolts of solid steel that goes into the body to prevent any burglar from prying the door open.
Tag Cloud
Resource Links
AmericasBest.comArchives
- November 2011 (1)
- October 2011 (2)
- August 2011 (5)
- July 2011 (6)
- June 2011 (5)
- May 2011 (14)
- April 2011 (6)
- May 2010 (2)
- April 2010 (3)
