On Friday night at 3:20AM, a ring of young thieves broke into a car on Ridgeview drive. They first broke into the SUV and stole items that included CD's, a Nintendo DS, money and paperwork, as well as a key to the second car in the driveway. After breaking into the second car, they stole money and gift certificates from the glove box. They then became even more daring and used the garage door openers to break into the garage- all while the residents were asleep in the home. Just to name some of the items stolen: a high performance dirt bike, riding gear, a motorized scooter, tools, paint guns, at least one computer, and an XBox 360, all in the matter of less than 30 minutes. At least one of the thieves wore size 6 mens 'Vans' tennis-shoes and left their foot prints all over the garage.

Another saddening aspect to this story, is the fact that a neighbor of the robbed family first reported these thieves to the sheriff's department at least 30 minutes before the second call was made from the robbed home about the robbery in progress. At least 3-4 young people were reported as laughing and smoking in front of the neighbors yard, and the neighbor let the police know that the discussion heard was around paintball guns and it was suspected that these people were vandalizing the cars or houses in the neighborhood.

The resident was first awoken by the noise in the garage and when he looked out the window, he saw a young man in his late teens/early 20's running down the street with one of the bags from his garage and knew that a robbery had taken place. Within 1 minute of the person running out of the driveway, the police were on the phone. It took a little more than 10 minutes for them to arrive at the home; the police station is less than 2.5 miles away.

The owners of the home were told that a RASH of burgalaries had occurred in the El Dorado Hills area, and law enforcement is at a loss as to who these people are. "It is not like CSI, where we take fingerprints and find these guys". The owners have taken it upon themselves to warn all of the residents in the same neighbborhood, and were told that this is very common by many of the residents who have also had cars and garages broken into.

The fact that this is becoming more common, and the fact that police were notified at least 30 minutes prior to the robbery, points to the fact that we need to be more aware- even in the best of areas. Had law enforcement responded in a timely manner, they would have caught these thieves in the act. This reminds us that we cannot always rely on our neighbors to hear something, or local law enforcement to arrive in a timely manner, but we can rely on our own best judgment. Here are some tips we can all use to ensure we keep our valuables safe, and our families safer, as well.

1. Lock your doors- even if you're going on a quick errand

2. Lock your car doors- at all times

3. Do not keep your garage door openers in the car, unless your home has an alarm that is inclusive of the garage

4. Do not leave your valuables in your car (like purse, wallet, laptop, etc)- even if it is locked in the garage

5. Place motion sensor lights around the areas thieves may try and break into

6. Keep your porch lights on at night

7. If someone looks like they don't belong in the neighborhood, or is acting suspicious, call your local law enforcement

8. If you find a thief in your home- IMMEDIATELY call the police and get out of the house. Do not try and confront them!