Today's big surprise

[billeyler]

It's a lovely Friday, marred only by our house being broken into.

I got a call on my cell phone about 10:45 during a meeting, but ignored it. About 30 minutes later, I got another call, which I missed, but checked it. It was the alarm company reporting the alarm going off at the house.

I tried to call Danny, since I thought he might have been at the house, but he was out and didn't answer HIS cell phone. I took off for home, thinking something awful must have happened to Danny.

Turns out that some jerk(s) broke into the house through the small double-paned laundry room downstairs. As soon as they got into the hallway (9 feet from the window), the motion sensor alarms went off. VERY VERY loudly. They hightailed it out the back door, which had a chain bolt, an interior lock and a KEY in the security door. They would have had to fumble around for quite a few seconds to get all of it unlocked. Amazingly, they didn't take the key.

When I got home at 11:30, the police had come back (after the alarm company had called them again when I got ahold of them). They were very nice about it all. They had already been all through the house, coming in through the open back door downstairs. They searched all the rooms, leaving the doors open, just in case there was someone still in the house. They're reporting it as "attempted burglary."

Nothing was taken at all. The alarm worked! Except for the window, nothing is even broken.

It wasn't until the police were about to leave that I realized all the power in the house was off. The creeps had turned all the circuit breakers off hoping they'd be turning the alarm off. Ha! They weren't THAT smart!

Danny got home in a panic about 12:15. He had left for a meeting at about 10. They broke in at 10:35, so someone was apparently scoping the place out. He nailed a board over the broken window after I got back to work. The glass company I had called hadn't called back, so that's just something else we'll have to deal with.

We live in a wide open neighborhood where nearly everyone is at work during the day. A thief's paradise, I'd reckon.

Blah!

Comments

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Ugh. I hope they don't try it again.

[billeyler.livejournal.com]

We're both certainly glad that it worked as it's supposed to!

[wooddragon.livejournal.com]

something I worry about, too. One of my roommates used to have a very irregular schedule, so you could never count on everyone being gone, but now all three of us are gone during the day...

I'm very sorry to hear about the break-in, but yay that your alarm system did all the things it was supposed to.

[billeyler.livejournal.com]

It's all just so random. But we can't worry about that forever. There used to be bars on all the windows, but we had them taken out when we put the new windows in and the alarm system. The house felt (and looked) very much like a jail.

[fuzzygruf.livejournal.com]

That bites. I'm really happy that you had an alarm that seemed to thwart them.

[billeyler.livejournal.com]

For now at least!

[markosf.livejournal.com]

They really were dumb to not know alarms systems have battery backups.

Sorry you had this violation though! It's not a nice feeling at all I am sure. HUGS

[billeyler.livejournal.com]

That's the first time for me in 15 years in this house, although there were guys checking it out about a year ago when Danny was home...but my tenants in one of my rentals were broken into three times in one year. Gawd.

bad fortune, good fortune...

[justetthon.livejournal.com]

gosh. Glad nothing was taken, and your personal selves are OK. Many years ago, my rowhouse (townhouse) in Baltimore was broken into, as I was sleeping upstairs! I was vaguely aware of noises downstairs, but had just taken on a housemate who I thought was just coming in late that night. Turns out, he never came home at all that night, and the robbers had cut my phone line, taken all my square dance equipment, microwave oven, and other little stuff, and made off with my car. It was very traumatic and I felt violated for years afterwards, especially knowing I was in the house when it all happened. So, what kind (company, etc)of alarm system do you have? That is a good perk, that it didn't cut off even after the lines had been cut. Robbers should know those things are battery-backed up and connected "anyway" to the police.

Re: bad fortune, good fortune...

[billeyler.livejournal.com]

Wow...I hadn't heard that bad news about your own break-in! Glad you weren't hurt!

We have ADT, but I think most alarm companies have similar services. We also have a remote control with panic button and can set it so if the front or back doors are opened when we're in bed, the alarm will go off.

[ozdachs.livejournal.com]

Sorry to hear about the break in. I thought that sort of thing was supposed to happen only in urban places like SF!

We inherited an alarm system from the previous female owner of the house. I think I'll go pet it.

[billeyler.livejournal.com]

It did work...this time!

[stormecho.livejournal.com]

Sucky, but glad nothing was taken. Never a good feeling.

[billeyler.livejournal.com]

We're just waiting for the other shoe to drop. We're both gone all day Monday through Thursday.