"Rash of Meredith break-ins"

[fatlazyless]

From yesterday's Dec 20 Laconia Daily Sun, a news report titled: "Rash of break-ins has Meredith police warning residents to be cautious & alert."

"A Meredith police detective said that numerous break-ins have taken place in widely different locations throughout the town, most of them during daylight hours, but one at night when the occupants of the home were sleeping. The burglars have forced entry and taken cash and valuables, including jewelry, televisions and sound systems. "They have taken the flat screens and left other televisions and taken the time to disconnect stereos," said the detective. "They wiped some people out."
..........
I know that down on the so called 'gold coast' waterfront, it's pretty common for homes to be unoccupied by owners who reside somewhere else. All these very nice homes and nobody is home.

As I recall breaking into a residence, even with nobody home, is considered a pretty serious crime and can be punished with a prison sentence, but maybe I'm wrong?

So, what happens to the stolen merchandise like flat screen tv's? Do the thieves hold a yard sale, or sell it on craigslist?
.......

"The detective said that police are pursuing several leads and investigating what he called "people of interest." But, he encouraged residents to report suspicious individuals or vehicles and urged anyone with information about the identity of the burglars or whereabouts of the stolen property to contact the Meredith Police Dept at 279-4561."

[dpg]

"They have taken the flat screens and left other televisions and taken the time to disconnect stereos," said the detective. "They wiped some people out."


I don't believe they left the other televisions because of the difficulty disconnecting them. Flat screens are much lighter and easier to carry and besides who wants an "old" T.V. when a flat screen is there for the taking? :eek: That's why I bought my folks a 300.00 flat screen from Wal Mart for the lake and not the 1,500 set we (both) have at home. Although I understand some of these homes may be lived in full time, too bad. :(

[fatlazyless]

Could be related to the lack of jobs in the Meredith area. Most people would rather have a job than do criminal b & e's.

Craigslist for jobs in Meredith has all of one listing; a November 26, tow truck driver, and that's all there is for a town of 6000.

Probably, it's just some locals trying to figure a way to pay their property tax. After all, that NH prop tax is still due even though you become unemployed. :(:rolleye1:

www.nh.gov/nhdoc/facilities/goffstown.html:)

[jeffk]

Probably, it's just some locals trying to figure a way to pay their property tax. After all, that NH prop tax is still due even though you become unemployed.

YEAH!

And the propane company still wants their money, and the electric company wants to be paid, and the grocery store wants to be paid for food, and I still have my cable bill, and my home and car insurance are due this month, and I need to get gas for my car, and I bought some parts for my snowmobile and that guy expects his money, and the phone company is charging me for the long distance calls I made, and the pharmacy wants its money for my meds, and i need a new pair of shoes and they want money, and the credit card company wants a piece of me, and let's not forget about my mortgage!!!

What's up with all these mean and greedy people? :(:(:(

And this relates to break ins how? :confused::confused:

[Skip]

...And this relates to break ins how? :confused::confused:

Let me offer a different theory: :)

Many burglaries (and other types of thefts) continue to be fueled by the criminal's drug habits. And unfortunately, the abuse of drugs such as crystal meth, cocaine, oxycontin and now heroin has reached deep into many rural areas of New Hampshire.

Some estimates place the percentage of burglaries to satisfy drug habits in excess of 70%.

In my experience, drug and alcohol abuse (along with thefts and domestic violence) peak with the chronically unemployed or underemployed during periods of economic downturn, such as we are experiencing now.

Scratch the surface and I believe a lot of theses burglaries are directly related to drug/alcohol abuse.....:(

[Mee-n-Mac]

Craigslist for jobs in Meredith has all of one listing; a November 26, tow truck driver, and that's all there is for a town of 6000.


www.nh.gov/nhdoc/facilities/goffstown.html:)

... the sound of opportunity knocking. Sounds to me like someone with time on their hands should open a private security firm and ride around checking on all the seasonal houses. Do a few push ups at each house to convince any onlookers that they mean business ! (or are as crazy as a loon, in either case not someone to mess with). Mebbe setup a few motion activated cameras to capture the ne'er-do-wells. Might pay for a few burgers ....

[Pineedles]

Most communities do not want to admit that they have a heroin problem!

Increased crime is a very good indicator that heroin is present. Heroin is the new cheap drug, but habits of $400 per day can happen within 1-2 months of taking your first oxycontin tablet! Some people try to disguise the problem with (other) drug and alcohol issues, but if you are tuned into your community, the real problem is "heroin" and the people that deal it.

People, Hear the truth! It is not a teenage drinking problem!

[trfour]

If it isn't bolted down, or at the very least out of sight, it will be-gone! Here in Texas, folks are being written up by the police for leaving things in their cars in store parking lots, out in plain sight for thieves to brake their windows and steal!! "And it's going to get a whole lot worse before it gets better!
So Please, Do Not Set Yourself Up in these unfortunate times!

[nj2nh]

Down here in Jersey, the length of a prison term is determined by the value of what is stolen. Burglary is a separate charge from theft and carries its own term of imprisonment depending on the "degree" of the crime.

So sayeth the criminal lawyer.

Sad, though. My parents' camp in Alton was burgled several time in the 70's and early 80's when we weren't there very much (college tends to get in the way of things). There isn't much left to take. We lost lots of antique furniture! A desk, footstools, stuff like that, but they left antique china and silver including a set with pearl handles. It's not that we put antiques there - the stuff just got old over the many years. The only thing left now is a huge (and I mean HUGE) hutch. No one would dare take the thing. We can't even move it to clean the floor!

Down here in Jersey, banks seem to be popular targets nowadays. Can you imagine? Burglary is one thing, but bank robbery? That's a federal offense with big-time penalties. I also heard that individuals newly out of jail in Detroit are commiting crimes to get back to a place where they are warm and get four meals a day. There are no jobs for them once they get out.

Very sad commentary on our times.

nj2nh

[Cristen]

I know a few people in law enforcement, and they too have said that heroin is a big problem. It's very cheap and easy to get as well.

I need an alarm system and a weapon to keep these creeps out of my house. It's a very scary situation (especially if you are a girl and home alone when someone is trying to break in).

[Waterbaby]

Down here in Jersey, banks seem to be popular targets nowadays.

Here in the Seacoast and Manchester areas it's not just banks but convenience stores with ATMs -- the police in Pelham are advising store owners to clear the ATMs of cash at night now. I don't think they realize the store owners usually lease the machines, have no way of emptying the machines................ it's only employees of the co. the machine is leased from who has the key to open the machine. I'd bet a lot of store owners are going to get rid of the machines and the heck with the convenience for the customers.

[fatlazyless]

Today's Dec 24 www.citizen.com has "Grinch who stole Christmas," a report frm the Redgate Apartments in Meredith about a single dad and ten year-old daughter whose Christmas gifts were stolen from under their tree. Their apartment was burglarized while they were not home.

Is that what drug or alcohol or property tax addictions do....where's the respect?

[SAMIAM]

Tell me about it....We got hit Sunday night at the Village Kitchen.Seemed like a pro.Drove in durring the storm and cut all the wires (phone,cable&alarm) then left and waited for the PD to arrive.Thinking it was a false alarm with no signs of a break in,the PD left and he came back a couple of hours later.Stole computer equiptment,cash and did a lot of damage.Kicked in a door and trashed the alarm system with a crowbar.We have a secondary alarm system with a battery pak/cell phone and that went off when he broke down the office door so he didn't have a chance to do too much damage.We're insured but my brand new laptop isn't backed up .....lot of info that I need. Anyway,we have it all on video so there is a good chance he'll be caught.If anyone wants a look at the video.....go to www.totalsecuritynh.com/files/country cookn.zip.....might be somebody you recognize.He drove in and out from Moultonborough.

[VitaBene]

Tell me about it....We got hit Sunday night at the Village Kitchen.Seemed like a pro.Drove in durring the storm and cut all the wires (phone,cable&alarm) then left and waited for the PD to arrive.Thinking it was a false alarm with no signs of a break in,the PD left and he came back a couple of hours later.Stole computer equiptment,cash and did a lot of damage.Kicked in a door and trashed the alarm system with a crowbar.We have a secondary alarm system with a battery pak/cell phone and that went off when he broke down the office door so he didn't have a chance to do too much damage.We're insured but my brand new laptop isn't backed up .....lot of info that I need. Anyway,we have it all on video so there is a good chance he'll be caught.If anyone wants a look at the video.....go to www.totalsecuritynh.com/files/country cookn.zip.....might be somebody you recognize.He drove in and out from Moultonborough.

Sam,

That is terrible, especially at this time of year. I could not view the video, but will try again.

Best of luck with your troubles

[wifi]

There is an underbar between country and cookn, you will need to assemble the URL via cut and paste. I'd also venture a guess, based on the direction the thief left, there is no one matching his description that way for a long distance. More like he went down 109 or Sheridan and out around Red Hill back towards Laconia the back way, where there is more likely someone matching his description. There are other reasons I think this but I'd rather not post it on the internet. Its also kind of hard to understand why the PD would chaulk it up to a false alarm when there are almost fresh tire tracks around the building, but as I remeber, there were lots of alarms from the wind that night, so the alarm might have been dismissed prematurely

[SAMIAM]

Thanks,Vita....try that site again,he's posted some still pics of the guy inside the restaurant...also his car outside....PD said it looked like a late 90's Blazer

[Lakesrider]

I've alwas wondered why businesses don't mount a camera right at the door down low, so you get a better picture of people breaking in. Get a good picture before they even know they are on camera...:D

Sam, sorry to hear this. We love the Village kitchen and will always support it.
I always comment on how quickly we get served, and the prime rib is always awsome!

[VitaBene]

I've alwas wondered why businesses don't mount a camera right at the door down low, so you get a better picture of people breaking in. Get a good picture before they even know they are on camera...:D

Sam, sorry to hear this. We love the Village kitchen and will always support it.
I always comment on how quickly we get served, and the prime rib is always awsome!

You are right, it would be a good location but if you placed a camera in every good location at a place like VK, you would spend a small fortune on CCTV. Based on the images in Sams's link, they have a nice system. In this case they have good images of the intruder- now someone needs to recognize him!

[trfour]

During this Holiday season, I saw two folks here in Dallas splitting a cab.

One took the CD player, and the other took all the tires offen' er, and split.

[Winnipesaukee]

The Meredith area is pretty conservative. These thieves will encounter the wrong homeowners soon enough.

[GTO]

I saw on the NH news yesterday there have been a rash of stolen cars, SUV's and even a boat in the past couple of weeks in Laconia. Police are urging people to keep their vehicles locked.

[trfour]

We are all set, I just feel sorry for all those who are defenceless!!
And with the latest news about the states not having the money to house their inmates and are going to let them out! When and if this happens I can see the head lines in the news papers....

US Law Enforcement All Take Slow Boat To China!

[wifi]

An alert angler spotted a suspect going from house to house on (I believe) Beaver Isle. Meredith PD was called, they observed the same from afar. With assistance from the Fire Dept (with sleds), they found footprints, but the houses appeared secure. The suspect disappeared and one officer suffered a minor injury.

Thanks be to those that become involved in helping their neighbors. Its too much to think it will not happen, but maybe next time someone will end up in custody. :)