It was a week ago when a thief or thieves broke into a home on the 700 block of Periwinkle Lane. The burglary was a major score for the criminals despite the home being equipped with an alarm. They got away with nearly $50,000 dollars in watches, including a $30,000 Rolex.
Friend, Sue Rubin, arrived at the home minutes after the alarm system went off.
"She was freaked out, completely freaked out," Rubin said.
"What I heard is the alarm will go off, but the police will respond. But until the police respond, they know they have 3 to 5 minutes until police will get here," neighbor Janice Milstein said.
Today a home on the 300 block of Baird was burglarized. It appears the thieves tried to pry open the front door.
Last week, nearly $500,000 worth of jewelry and handbags were stolen from a home in the posh Villanova section of Lower Merion. The bandit or bandits entered through a back sliding glass door.
In all, there've been 14 burglaries or attempted burglaries across Lower Merion Township.
"It is scary, it's definitely scary, but you can't live your life in fishbowl," Milstein said.
Police do not believe one individual or group is responsible because there is no pattern and the crimes are spread across the township. But in many of the cases, there is a common thread: The criminals enter through unlocked doors or windows, or if locked, they break in.
On the 1300 block of Bobarn, someone tried to force their way into a front door, when that didn't work they broke in through a back window. It's unclear if anything was taken.
On the unit block of East Spring in Ardmore, witnesses saw two to three men leaving an apartment after breaking into the front door.
A short time later, police got a second report in the same area. Witnesses saw a man cutting a window screen.
The man and an accomplice fled.
Residents are taking the necessary steps to make sure they are not a victim.
"What we did is put in a video surveillance camera system outside and locked our gates," Milstein said.
The message police want residents to know is if you see something, say something.
