Sierra Madre Store Owner Burglarized by 'Gypsies' Responds With New Safety Measures

When two women in downtown Sierra Madre on April 6,  it was the latest in a string of so-called “distraction burglaries” that have come to plague the town in recent weeks and months.

On March 25, police issued a warning about a man who had posed as a water department employee in order to gain entry to the home of an unsuspecting elderly resident. That same day, the owners of were apparently after a woman distracted the shopkeeper and left the store without returning the ring.

But Reib, who owns the arts and crafts store in downtown Sierra Madre, isn’t taking things lying down. In addition to running her shop, Reib has also served as property manager for the 29 apartment units above the store for the past five years. In fact, she lives in one of the units herself.

That’s how the two women, described by Reib and the Sierra Madre Police Department as “Gypsies,” were able to gain access to her home, which is attached to the store via a private door.

In the end, the two women, who were dressed in traditional Indian clothing, distracted Reib enough that they were able to enter the home and make off with more than $18,000 worth of jewelry and art.

“I didn’t know the Gypsy problem was so huge,” said Reib, who takes particular issue with the fact that the women posed as Indian. “I don’t like anyone who commits a crime and tries blaming someone else for it.”

The Sierra Madre Police Department has since released photographs of the two women suspected in the Eastwicke burglary. Those still images were taken from security camera footage taken outside the shop by cameras belonging to the complex Reib manages.

“The police have been great,” Reib said. “They were the ones that were actually able to come over and extract the images from the cameras.”

But the protection of the isn’t the only thing Reib is doing to prevent future loss. Since the burglary, she’s installed a numbered keypad lock on the door between her business and her home, in addition to adding more security cameras to the complex. And Reib says that’s not the end of it; she plans to install a full upgrade to the building’s security system soon.

Still, Reib seems to feel as if things have changed for the irreparable worse for   Sierra Madre businesses.

“I used to be able to treat my customers as if they were all from Sierra Madre,” Reib said. “I just can’t do that anymore.”

Just then, as if by some strange design meant to temper the notion that Sierra Madre is losing its village charm and cohesion, life-long resident and concerned neighbor Glen Wingate walked through the door saying he had seen the robbery report and wanted to check on Reib and hear the full story. The two chatted about how things had changed over their many years in town. But in the end even Wingate echoed the sentiment of Reib’s comments that she had made before he arrived.

“As safe as Sierra Madre may be,” Wingate said, “I don’t care where you are; you’ve got to be vigilant.”

As for her total loss in the robbery, Reib said she is still accessing the situation and that other things may be missing. Worse still, Reib told Patch that the jewelry was not insured.

“I was actually just considering renter's insurance the week before, but I hadn’t gotten around to calling them,” Reib said. “Can you imagine if I had gone ahead and gotten it, then this happened three days later? They would have called me a liar!”

The irony of the insurance situation clearly not lost on the sharp artist and shopkeeper, Reib even cracked a bit of a smile at the absurdity of the timing before saying she would surely be signing up for insurance soon.

“I’m not someone to covet, you know, things,” said Reib. “But some of these items were two and three hundred years old. They were family heirlooms.”