Bold burglars hit occupied Bargersville homes
BARGERSVILLE, Ind (WISH) — Police in Bargersville say thieves are breaking into homes despite obvious signs of people inside. Victims reported three different incidents Wednesday morning.
The first happened on Old Plank Road around 1:20 in the morning. The next happened just hours later, around 3:10 on West Street. The last victim on East Street filed a police report around 5:15 that same morning.
Detectives believe the burglaries are connected because they all happened near each other. They also believe there are multiple people involved. The burglars seem to be fearless, going into homes with lights on and vehicles in the driveway.
One victim, who only wanted to be identified as Nicole, was sleeping in bed with her boyfriend when she rolled over and saw the silhouette of a man standing inside her doorway.
“He was just trying to open the pill bottle. He had a tissue on top and I guess a tissue around it. He was trying to open it,” she explained.
Nicole believes her dog spooked the suspect. He threw the pill bottle on the couch and took off.
“The door was wide open, so I’m guessing that’s how he got out. He ran through the back,” she said.
According to police, the suspect got away with $42, but perhaps more troubling is the fact that the burglar entered the home even with cars in the driveway. While inside, Nicole says he spent his time going through her boyfriend’s wallet, eventually leaving it behind grab the pill bottle. She says he left behind a cigarette, which was handed over to police as evidence.
But the burglars didn’t stop at Nicole’s home. According to detectives, they headed down the road where two other victims filed reports. It all happened less than half a mile from Nicole’s home.
“Another reason I had felt safe is because we had just put the fence up and that’s the security light right there,” said Becky Jeffers, who was also victimized.
None of that mattered to the thieves. According to Jeffers, they got through the fence and climbed into the garage through a side window. Jeffers and her husband had just moved into her house and had things stored in her garage, including his gun safe. The burglars stole the safe and other items.
“When it got daylight we discovered that it was in our side yard and had been pried open and guns stolen — loaded guns,” she said.
Two guns were taken, according to Jeffers. Due to the weight of the safe, police believe multiple people were likely involved.
“I couldn’t even scoot it, so I don’t think one person could move it at all,” she said.
One other victim reported a burglary. In this case, a thief tried to get in through their backdoor. The barking dog didn’t stop them, but the homeowner who caught a glimpse of the suspect did. The burglar ran off, first hiding in a backyard bus then jumping the fence and taking off.
“It’s just scary knowing that now they have guns in their hands and they are willing to go into people’s houses, while they are home and they are asleep in bed,” Nicole said.
Police say they received different suspect descriptions, which could be due to multiple people being involved.
One victim described a suspect as male, about 5 feet 11 inches tall and weighing between 160 to 180 pounds. The victims says the burglar had dark hair and was wearing blue jeans.
Police took DNA swabs from a bike found near one incident, a web cam and cigarette from another, and the gun safe from the final scene. A K-9 was also used to track down the suspects, but did not find anyone. Police also stopped two men who were walking near one scene, but have not made any arrests.
If you have any information that could help in this investigation, call the Bargersville Police Department at (317) 422-1222.
