Soledad sees increase in home burglaries
For most Central Coast cities, schools are back in session and sometimes that means homes are left empty. Now the Soledad Police Department is warning residents to be on alert. Officers said burglars are breaking in while people are out.
“Yes I’m afraid because those burglars, they’re not there without a gun in their hands. They take a gun so they can defend themselves so they can steal what they want,” 20-year resident Maria Puga said.
Puga said she’s going to keep an eye out for anything suspicious. That’s because police said burglars are hitting up homes between 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
“As soon as people leave for work or for school they’re susceptible. There’s been between five to ten that we’ve experienced in the city here alone in the last several weeks since schools started,” said Soledad Police Chief Eric Sills.
The department said burglars walk up to doors, knock and wait to see if anyone is home. If nobody answers, then the burglar likely will break in from the backyard.
“What we found is there were some people home on some of these incidents and when somebody answers the door the individual would say is John Smith here? And they would say well there’s no John Smith here and they say OK thanks and walk away,” said Chief Sills.
Police said homes are being targeted all over town. We checked with other departments. Hollister said burglaries are down compared to last year and Watsonville said it hasn’t seen an increase either. But in Soledad it’s a different story. Police are asking for residents to lock up and stay vigilant.
“Being here that you folks from KION today helps us put out the message. And in addition to that we’ve upped patrols in the area,” said Chief Sills.
They’re hoping upped patrols will deter burglars from seeing an empty driveway as an opportunity. Soledad police said they have leads on some of those burglary cases. And if you encounter someone suspicious at your door trust your judgement and call the police.
