'Fake delivery driver' burglary scheme caught on camera at Milpitas home
MILPITAS, Calif. (KGO) -- A Milpitas resident says thieves broke into her home, disabled her alarm system and stole a safe containing more than $70,000 in valuables, including jewelry, passports, birth certificates and family heirlooms.
Surveillance video from the home shows what initially appears to be a typical Amazon delivery around 2:14 p.m. A man carrying an already-open box approaches the home and knocks on the door. When no one answers, he appears to text someone before walking away.
"Then he walked away and walked down the street. So, there was no car or truck here. It seems like the perpetrators staged down by the corner," Milpitas resident Donna Kato said.
About 20 minutes later, surveillance video shows two people wearing, hats, glasses and masks getting out of a vehicle and walking through an unlocked side gate. They shattered a sliding glass door in the backyard and entered the home, according to Kato.
She said her alarm never went off.
"Once they went in, they pulled the modem, so my alarm system didn't activate and call the police and my ring camera went down," Kato said.
In less than 10 minutes, the thieves ransacked the home and left with Kato's safe. She said its contents included valuables worth more than $70,000, as well as irreplaceable family heirlooms.
"They took my safe. Which had all my valuables in it. Paperwork passport birth certificates and a significant amount of jewelry that I had accumulated over the years as gifts and in particular what was hurtful is that I lost all the heirloom jewelry that my mom had given me," Kato said.
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According to a Milpitas police report, the same vehicle was captured by a license plate reader entering Milpitas two hours before the burglary and leaving the city minutes after it occurred.
"I believe they came to Milpitas looking for targets," said Marc Hinch, a private investigator hired by Kato.
Hinch said he hopes releasing the surveillance video will help identify a person seen in the footage with a tattoo and ultimately help Kato recover her jewelry. He said similar crimes are occurring across California.
"It happens all over the state. Organized crews are really good at identifying homes that doesn't look like anyone is there and they kind of know the windows of time to strike," Hinch said.
Kato was on vacation at the time of the burglary and said she believed her security system would be enough to protect her home.
"I could have been home. My personal safety was jeopardized I feel and the whole neighborhood feels that way," Kato said.
Hinch recommends installing hardwired security cameras and avoiding storing a safe in a bedroom or office, where he said thieves may search first.
Milpitas police say the department is investigating several leads, but did not any updates to share at this time.
