Residential Burglars Hit Up Half Moon Bay

The San Mateo County Sheriff's Coastside Bureau is asking all Coastside residents to be on the alert for any suspicious individual(s) with their vehicle(s) possibly casing your neighborhood.

Within the last week, the City of Half Moon Bay has experienced three daytime residential burglaries all involving unlocked garage doors or kicked-in side doors that led into the garage, according to Sheriff's Coastside Patrol, Sgt. J. Gilletti.

Areas of Half Moon Bay that were burglarized include a residence on the 1000 block of 3rd Avenue; a residence on the 400 block of Grand Boulevard; and a residence on the 300 block of Valdez Avenue. The burglaries are occurring during the daytime hours generally between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.

The Half Moon Bay burglaries have followed an area wide increase in residential burglaries that have occurred in a variety of Peninsula jurisdictions, including San Mateo, Belmont and San Carlos.

In most of the cases, the thieves are walking door-to-door and knocking on the front door to see if anyone is home. If you open the door, the burglar will give a phony reason for knocking. If no one answers the front door, the burglar(s) will enter a side yard to access or kick-in the side door — a door that may not be observable from the street. In some cases, an associate may also be waiting with a car parked outside.

The Sheriff's Office is working in unison with other city jurisdictions to increase communication and identify suspects. In these other cities, arrests have been made due to alert neighbors identifying suspects with quick calls to local police and with leads from home surveillance systems.

The Sheriff's Office wants to remind all residents to take reasonable precautions and lock all doors and windows and report any suspicious individuals. If you see someone suspicious in your neighborhood, please do not hesitate to call Sheriff's Dispatch at (650) 363-4911.

More information on crime statistics can be found on the Sheriff's Office citizen RIMS site: http://smso.crimegraphics.com/