Vero police are still sifting through clues in hopes of catching the burglar or burglars who broke into four beachside condominiums, entering bedrooms while the residents slept and stealing phones, wallets, checkbooks, credit cards, cash and other valuables.
Lt. John Pedersen, who heads up Vero’s detective division, said Monday, “We have had no similar burglaries [before these]. We currently do not have any suspects or any vehicle descriptions. I would as always, urge all residents citywide to always lock their doors and windows.”
Details of the four cases in the Ocean Club Condominiums, which are located in the 4400 block of A1A just north or Jaycee Park, point to a stealthy and bold thief, with police finding “gloved hand marks” on sliding glass doors and mysterious entry through supposedly locked doors and windows.
In all four cases, residents only discovered they had been victimized when they woke up and found property missing or belongings not where they should be. After the first three reports last Tuesday morning, police sent out an alert to the area neighborhood watch email list asking residents to check to see if anything was missing or askew.
In one of the burglaries, the victim “stated that while she slept, someone entered her bedroom and removed her purse. The purse was on the floor next to her bed. The contents of which, were dumped out on the living room couch. Brown stated that she was missing her wallet which contained $100.00 cash, 2 credit cards, her driver license, and other miscellaneous cards.” The victim’s day planner was also taken, but it was found inside another condo burgled the same night.
In another of the condos, burglars apparently opened and crawled through a locked window. Police say this victim “stated all the doors and windows were closed and locked, except for the victim’s bedroom window which was left open approximately 6 inches. As I looked around, I found the dining room window was open approximately 1 inch and the screen had been removed.
The screen was located 5 feet away from the window, leaning against a metal fence.” The resident of the condo told police he was sure the dining room window had been shut when he went to bed.
Entry points in the four condos – three on the first floor and one on the second floor – were all different, including sliding glass doors and windows that were said to be locked in three of the four condos. The thief or thieves likely exited through the front doors, but unfortunately for investigators, there were no surveillance cameras scanning the immediate area to catch them fleeing, according to police reports.
Indian River Shores Chief Rich Rosell said the Town has had no burglaries of this sort recently. As a precaution though, the town and the city sent emails to area residents reminding them to be vigilant.
