Local News - July 2002

Daylight housebreakings on the rise in Lincoln

Editor’s Note: This is the first in a two-part story on recent home burglaries in Lincoln County. Monday, law enforcement officials offer advice on how to protect your home and your family.

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 By ALICE SMITH, LTN Staff Writer

July 5, 2002 - When Gloria Fisher came home June 26, something was wrong.

She left her Ingleside Farm Road home in eastern Lincoln County at around 8:30 a.m. and went to her brother’s house, like she always does.  Her brother lives about a mile away.

When she returned at 2:15 p.m. she was shaken by what she had found. The home that was her safe haven would never seem the same.

Someone had kicked in the door to her family’s house.  The door is steel with a wood frame

Her house had been ransacked.  Drawers were hanging open, and her belongings were strewn around the room.

“They turned everything inside out,” Fisher said.

More than $1,000 in jewelry, including her anniversary and wedding rings, had been taken.  Some CDs of her niece’s were missing, as well as a hammock and an antique camera. Credit cards had been taken from a drawer in the bedroom.

And just a week ago, a riding lawn mower was stolen out of the back of her husband’s truck while it was parked outside their home.

Fisher’s home has an alarm system, but she thinks it must have been delayed that day.

The break-in has changed her life.

“I’ve never been afraid to stay in this house at night alone, but now I am,” Fisher said.  “It’s scary.  You don’t know if someone’s lurking outside.

“The scary part is that they’ll still be roaming out there.”

Detective Lee Keller of the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, who is investigating the incident, said there is a suspect in the case.

Reports of breaking and entering crimes are growing.

And most of these crimes aren’t happening during the dark, quite nighttime hours.

· Someone removed an air conditioning unit from a Sigmon Street residence and sneaked into the home at 2:20 p.m. June 27.  Taken was almost $2,000 in jewelry.

· A debit card and checkbook were stolen from a home on N. High Street at 11:30 a.m. June 27.

· At around 4 p.m. June 26, the front door of a home on Park Circle was opened with a screwdriver. Jewelry valued at $1,000 was taken.

· A Dish Network satellite card, CDs, tapes and videos valued at $200 were taken Friday from a Vale home at 5:30 p.m. Saturday.

Daytime break-ins are not unusual, said Lincolnton Police Department Lt. Kenny Shrum, because most people work during the day.

Criminals watch people and understand their habits, he said.

“It’s human nature to get into a routine.”

Most people get up at the same time in the morning, leave at the same time and drive the same way to work.

It’s not hard to pick out routines, Shrum said, or to figure out which lights people usually leave on or if they have animals.

Long, hot summer days also seem to result in more crime.

“People get hot and they get irritable,” Shrum said. “On average, you’re going to have more crime.”

However, Shrum does not think kids, who are out of school on summer vacation, play a large part in break-ins in which expensive items are taken.

They usually commit petty crimes, like vandalism.

Shrum said the economy is probably playing a big part in the increase in crime.  Job layoffs sometimes cause people to turn to desperate means for money.

“It’s going to get worse if things don’t even out,” Shrum said.

Keller agreed that when they economy is down, police experience an increase in property crimes.

Drugs are also a huge factor in home break-ins. 

“Once you get hooked on these (drugs), you have to do something,” Shrum said.  “You can’t hold a job down, so you have to find other means to support your habit.

“They’re going to do anything they can to cope with that.”

© 2001 Lincoln Times-News  

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