The same three people are responsible for at least eight break-ins in the last five weeks, NBC 7’s Dave Summers reports.
The search is underway for a group of burglars who the San Diego Police Department (SDPD) says has been targeting homes in Scripps Ranch and Rancho Penasquitos, including seven in just the last week, SDPD Detective Sgt. Eric Drilling told NBC 7.
Sergeant Drilling is a detective with San Diego Police Department’s division that oversees Scripps Ranch and Rancho Peñasquitos.
Drilling says the thieves, wearing surgical masks, gloves and hooded sweatshirts carried out each of the crimes between 3 p.m. and 11 p.m., in most cases arriving in a dark-colored Audi Q5 model SUV.
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"We are as frustrated as the public I’m sure, we want to bring this to a conclusion as quickly as possible," Drilling added, about what he says is a burglary series in which the suspects are escalating quickly.
"In one case, the burglars brought a large can of bear spray and used it on the family dog," department spokesperson Lt. Adam Sharki said.
During three of the most recent cases, the homes were occupied when the suspects entered the home, which Drilling says is the most concerning for SDPD.
"My mother saw a person with a grey hoodie with a white mask," Daniel Liu, whose family home was broken into by the group, told NBC 7 describing what happened as his mom interrupted the group's burglary attempt.
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"She was making her way downstairs because she heard a loud noise which was the glass shattering from the back door. As she was making her way down the stairs she saw the robber and the robber said like, "oh they’re here" and they left out the back door and they went away," Liu added.
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Typically, after the group of thieves enters the backyard of the targeted home, one person breaks a rear sliding-glass door to get inside before targeting the master bedroom(s) and main living areas of the home, Drilling said. He added the thieves are leaving with the victims' jewelry, valuables, cash and safes.
In multiple cases, home surveillance cameras have captured video images of the thieves and their getaway vehicle before, during and after the thefts occur.
Investigators say although similar, these incidents are not believed to be related to other recent burglary series in the County.
Anyone with information about the burglaries is asked to call San Diego County Crime Stoppers at 888-580-8477 or contact the agency online at sdcrimestoppers.org. Tipsters may remain anonymous and could be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000.
City News Service contributed to this report.