By Jeff Lipton
Police believe the suspect may be responsible for seven break-ins of mostly upscale homes in Lawrence in April, including an incident on April 6 a home on Margaret Avenue during which $100,000 in valuables was stolen. In that burglary, police said, the suspect entered through a second-floor bedroom sometime between 5:45 p.m. and 9:50 p.m. In several cases, the homeowners were inside at the time of the break-ins, police said.
There's just one thing very common, said Fourth Precinct Sgt. Stephen Slisz, who spoke at the Wednesday, May 14 meeting of the Village of Lawrence Board of Trustees. This person comes in very quietly and people are telling us well after the fact that they heard noises upstairs and thought it was raccoons.
Just be aware that if you hear noises in the house that are out of the ordinary and you have any sort of idea that anything suspicious is going on, just pick up the phone and call 911, he added. We have no problems coming. If it's a raccoon, we'll just go back on patrol. If it happens to be the individual we're looking for, then we'll be very happy about that.
Even though they have a good idea who the burglar is, police are reluctant to publicly release his name. The police department is well on this individual's trail, said Simon Felder, a Lawrence Village board trustee and the village police commissioner. He's very elusive, and he's a very professional criminal, a career criminal.
Village of Lawrence Mayor Dr. Jack Levenbrown described the suspect as very savvy, very nervy.
The mayor said that seven burglaries in one month is extremely unusual in the village. Over the past number of years, crime has been at historic lows, he said, adding that in the 1970s and 1980s, it was not uncommon to have 25 burglaries a month. With the cooperation of the police department, that number has been brought down to record lows over the last couple of years, Levenbrown said.
Dep. Insp. Richard McGuire, commanding officer of the Fourth Precinct, said the suspect committed about a dozen burglaries in the area several years ago and apparently has returned to the community to carry out more burglaries. But the pattern has dried up, McGuire said. He may have known we were on to him, and he disappeared off the radar screen.
McGuire said that in response to the burglary wave, police patrols were targeting those blocks where the break-ins were occurring. We have made inroads in the burglaries, he said, adding that in May the number has tapered off significantly.
In addition, McGuire said, arrests have been made against other burglary suspects, helping to reduce the number of break-ins this month. We have had a reduction in burglaries, McGuire said. It's definitely been a focal point in crimes, doing more targeted patrols. One M.O. is that he was hitting upscale homes, and we targeted patrols to the affected areas. It no longer appears to be an active pattern.
He urged residents to immediately report to police anything they see or hear that is suspicious. The timely reporting of information is very important, McGuire said. By calling 911, you are not bothering us. One phone call is worth a thousand hours of patrol.
He also encouraged residents to become aware of the patterns of their neighbors, so if something appears out of place, they could call police to report it. Neighbors are in the best position to know, McGuire said. They live on the block day in and day out and they are in a better position than we are of knowing the comings and goings of their neighbors. They should know when their neighbors are on vacation. And they should let their neighbors know when they are going away.
He also said it was important to keep secluded areas of property well lit at night. Screen locks and window locks are also a key to keeping intruders out.
Citizens should be wary, Felder said. They should keep their eyes open, their ears open, and citizens should be aware that there have been some incidents. Awareness and immediate response by calling 911 is going to be the best prevention of something happening.
