Five Sierra Madre Burglaries Reported in Six Days

A string of burglaries occurred in Sierra Madre over the course of six days—from July 31 to Sunday night, Aug. 5. The incidents varied in terms of type of location and only two of the burglaries seem to have similarities so far regarding the suspects that were described.

Sergeant Ruben Enriquez described the following incidents from police reports to Patch Monday.

Church Burglary

Sunday night someone at (191 West Sierra Madre Boulevard) reported that an African American man that appeared in his 40s or 50s came in the church at about 8 p.m. and asked to use the restroom. No one saw the man leave, but later a parishioner noticed that over $200 in cash was missing from her purse that was in another room. The man who came in to use the restroom was also described as wearing a beige leather jacket, black shirt and black pants and carrying a straw hat. No one in the church at the time reported that he or she had seen the man before.

Residential Burglary

At about 10:18 p.m. Sunday a resident reported over $200 in cash taken from a purse in a residential burglary that allegedly took place in the 100 block of Lima Street. The victim was home at the time of the burglary, which is estimated to have taken place between 7:50 p.m. and 8:15 p.m., though the victim was apparently in a room at the rear of the home and only saw the suspect walk by but did not see him enter the home. A neighbor reported that an African American man in his 30s or 40s wearing a button-up yellow shirt and dark color pants walked up to the front door and entered the house.

School Burglary

A second burglary was reported at on Thursday, eight days after a . Some time between 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday and 10:30 a.m. on Thursday a suspect or suspects entered a classroom through an unsecured window and vandalized the classroom by leaving school supplies strewn about the room. A window was broken, resulting in $125 damage, but nothing was reported missing. No one reportedly saw the suspect or suspects responsible.

In light of two Sierra Madre Middle School burglaries occurring over the course of about a week, Sergeant Enriquez told Patch that the Sierra Madre Police Department is stepping up patrols and the school may be performing its own safety measures as well.

Residential Burglary

On Tuesday two laptops were reported stolen from a home under construction in the 500 block of Sierra Meadow Drive. The residents are still living at the home and reported the items missing at 6:22 p.m. and signs of forced entry.

Vehicle Burglary

Valuables were reported

What do you think of five burglary incidents being reported in Sierra Madre over six days? Do you take precautions to help prevent burglary from happening to you or are you now inspired to take more precautions?