/

Burglars boldly attack San Francisco home garages

3 mins read

Brazen theft continues to be a problem in San Francisco as burglars are now attacking home garages across the city, in addition to just targeting cars, KPIX 5 reported.

A homeowner from Cow Hollow revealed to KPIX 5 that last month, their garage was broken into by thieves while their family was asleep. The crime did not last long and just before five minutes, the suspects were all gone.

The thief made it into the garage by making a little hole in the door.

The suspect used equipment similar to fishing gear to reach the emergency release cord through the hole.

The burglar was recorded scanning his surroundings and getting the bag inside the garage before escaping, closing the garage door as he left.

“If you can’t feel safe in your own home, while you’re sleeping at night, then it’s really, really stressful to live in the city,” the homeowner, who only identified himself as “Mark”, said.

The thief managed to get away with a bag containing personal effects, he said, adding that the bag has a sentimental value.

The crime was not done by one person as a lookout with an umbrella was also caught on cam.

“They were very bold. They were on multiple cameras, they’re not even wearing masks, so it just shows that they’re probably not worried about any ramifications,” Mark furthered.

The Pacific Heights neighborhood’s garages were also victimized by the same theft strategy in November, as reported by KPIX 5.

One homeowner, Paul Banas, said that their garage has been penetrated into about eight times.

“They’re going in, they’re trying to grab the emergency cord, so they can pull up the garage, the garage door, and take whatever is inside it. And since that time, they hit again. They came in the middle of the night, they tried to punch out the vent, and drilled another big hole,” he said.

To conceal the illegal activity, Banas said that the suspect placed black latex gloves over his outdoor lights.

Even his neighbors’ garages were not spared.

“They have one of those old-fashioned pull up garage doors…not motorized and I guess they took a crowbar and pulled it off its hinges, and now he’s out a garage door. He’s going to have to replace a garage door,” he said.