By Jacqui Heinrich. CREATED Jul 27, 2015
Las Vegas, NV (KTNV) -- A northwest Las Vegas neighborhood is on edge after a series of home and car burglaries were caught on camera.
The crimes happened within the past week near the intersection of North Tenaya Way and Washington Avenue, just days after Action News reported on a second string of burglaries in nearby Summerlin.
Now residents aren't just angry they're being victimized; some are afraid to go to sleep at night.
One crook captured on camera is seen walking up to a car and checking and the door handle to see if it's unlocked, at one point staring directly into the camera. Homeowner Gary Alu said he only thought to check his footage when a neighbor told him they'd seen some suspicious characters walking the street around 3 a.m., checking other cars.
"It's just a shame that we can't live in our home. We have to do things like this, security bars and security screens and alarm systems. Neighbors are on edge, it's a problem," Alu said. His home was burglarized last spring as well.
The Las Vegas Metro Police Crime Map shows that since June 1, there have been 26 home and car burglaries within a mile of Alu's house. If you expand the search to two miles and search for the same type of crime within that time period, the results yield 133 crimes.
Just a few doors down from Alu, another woman who preferred not to identify herself also caught a crook on video.
In broad daylight a man is shown breaking in through a kitchen window before he spends 45 minutes inside, eating food and loading electronics, jewelry, and heirlooms into garbage bags. The man then sets the bags on the sidewalk before he loads up his car and drives away.
"I'm guessing it was about $70,000 in items," the woman said.
These neighbors want a bigger response from police and for these criminals to know they're watching.
Police say crimes of opportunity do increase in the summer months and it's especially important to remember to lock your doors and never leave valuables in sight.
http://www.scrippsmedia.com/ktnv/news/Burglary-spree-rattles-northwest-valley-neighborhood-318745851.html