By Mayfair Homeowner
It was a beautiful, early spring night and I was having dinner at my friend’s house downtown. As I left at about 8:30 p.m., I checked my home phone messages. There were several, all from neighbors. Based on what they collectively said, this is what I learned:
Whoa. The calls all came around 7 p.m., so I figured that anything that happened was over by then. As I raced up 14th Street, I quickly tried to remember how I left the house. Did I leave the stove burners on? No, that would be the fire department, not the policemen. Did I leave doors or windows open? I didn’t think so, but maybe.
The Scene
As I pulled into my driveway, all appeared normal. Front porch light on, a light inside my office window. However, when I came to the front door, things were amiss. A screen to a window was lying on the porch floor. And the top part of my security door was bent in. Wow, something did happen. I noticed my neighbor’s garage door was open and the light was on. They were moving furniture into a storage unit. So I knew they were within shouting distance. Nonetheless, I went back to my car a grabbed a driver out of my golf bag in the trunk. Maybe this darn thing would finally be of some use.
As I opened the door, all seemed fine. I checked for valuables. Laptop computer. Check. Desktop computer. Check. TV. Check. OK, that’s it for valuables. However, when I walked into my back room, I noticed a couch that is against a window was moved. I quickly called my neighbor who said she wasn’t sure what happened, and suggested I called District 3 police headquarters which I did. They said they would be sending a police officer.
Witnesses
In the meantime, I waited outside when another neighbor stopped by. He said he saw someone breaking into my house through the front door. Really? The bolt lock seemed to be locked. I was totally confused. Then Officer John (not his real name) came by. He indicated they responded, and had trouble getting in to see if there was a robber inside my house, or had been inside my house. In fact, it was the police who pulled off and dented the screen, bent the security door open trying to pry it, and broke the lock and the gate to the back fence.
They were just about to break a window when they were able to jiggle a back window open (the lock has since been fixed). That’s where they came in, all eight of them in my teeny house, looking for the reported robber. Officer John said they did a thorough check of the inside and outside of my house. This included looking under all the beds, in the closets and in the crawl space. “You looked under my beds? In my closets? In my crawl space?,” I asked. OK, now I’m not sure what is worse — being robbed or having a bunch of people looking under my beds!
All’s Well
Nonetheless, the police were sure that no one was in the house, and asked if they could help fix my screen, security door and broken back gate. As it turns out, several neighbors had seen a man was walking door-to-door selling meat so maybe there was some confusion. My only regret was that no one got a photo of the cops surrounding my house with their guns drawn. That would have been a priceless photo!
By Jason Cramer, Denver Police Department, District 3
District 3 (including Mayfair) of Denver Police wants to keep you from being a victim of theft from motor vehicle, a crime that increases with the coming of summer. A few simple and common sense tips can make a big difference in keeping you and your possessions safe.
If you have any information or leads regarding thefts from motor vehicles, DPD encourages you to call the District 3 Tip Line at 720-913-1178.
Theft from Motor Vehicle Prevention Tips
Crime statistics and offense reporting available at: www.denvergov.org.
