Residents who live in Los Gatos' Vista Del Monte neighborhood are reporting a string of home burglaries that took place last week.
Messages left on the i-Neighbors board revealed one home owner spoke to a Los Gatos-Monte Sereno police officer whom she quoted as saying the department was "getting slammed" by the crimes.
"It's very important to get the word out on this," wrote Los Gatos resident Katie Anderson to Los Gatos Patch about the incidents.
Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Sgt. Spokesman Kerry Harris was not immediately available to respond to messages inquiring about the crimes.
Anderson lives in the neighborhood and said burglars also broke into a Baron Drive home in San Jose Tuesday, Feb. 5 between 10 a.m. and 11:30 a.m.
The thieves accessed the property by breaking a backyard window and ransacking the house taking electronics like tablets, an iMac, gaming and entertainment systems.
In another incident, burglars broke into a Cerro Chico home Thursday, Feb. 7 "ignored the alarm system and kept on ransacking ..."
The Cerro Chico break-in is said to have taken place between 11 a.m. and 2:45 p.m., while the owners were away, Anderson said.
"One of their neighbors said she heard her doorbell ring around 11ish, but didn't answer it ... maybe someone casing the street?" she asked.
In that burglary, the biggest item stolen was the homeowners' personal safe.
"So, you can assume it had to be more than one person, and they had time to search the house for it, and had a van or something to put it in," she noted.
Another home on Vista Del Monte was broken into at 10:30 a.m. Friday, Feb. 8, Anderson reported.
Burglars entered the house through the back door; the security alarm went off, she said. "They continued to ransack drawers looking for valuables with the alarm going. Police got there within a few minutes after the alarm, but missed the burglars. Luckily, they left without any valuables," she said.
A suspicious person was spotted leaving the home's driveway in a small sedan, maybe white color, with a getaway driver, she said.
Police have told the residents the pattern of the break-ins is that they take place between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m., burglars enter the homes through side gates to access back doors until they find one unlocked. They then either steal jewelry and other expensive items left out in the open.
"The scary thing about this incident is that they were not deterred by the alarm," she repeated about the Vista Del Monte crime. "Police said there are a lot of break-ins going on in Los Gatos right now. Be careful."
Los Gatos Monte Sereno Police Sgt. Steven Walpole has recommended that residents lock their doors and close their windows to avoid being victims of these crimes.
"Many residential burglaries occur when residents leave their doors unlocked," Sgt. Walpole said in December when similar crimes were reported in town and Monte Sereno.
