Exclusive interviews: Victims scared after home raids

Victims of recent burglaries have spoken of their anguish as police warn islanders to be on their guard.

In one incident, a Devonshire woman’s son got into a violent scuffle with a burglar who also kicked and injured the family dog. His pockets were stuffed with jewellery — he had even grabbed Bermuda Regiment uniform buttons as part of his haul. The woman said her brother’s home was also targeted.  

 Another woman, in Smith’s, told us thieves gained entry into her house through a ground floor window in a raid that left her feeling a mix of shock, dismay, anger, mistrust and vulnerability.

Police are advising residents to report any suspicious behaviour around their homes. 

Rash of break-ins

Police are imploring residents to be vigilant, in the wake of a rash of home invasions across the island in recent months.

Bermuda Police Service spokesman Dwayne Caines confirmed authorities have noticed a rise in breaking-and-enterings around the island in recent months.

“The MO is usually two individuals that break a window to gain access and then ransack the dwelling,” said Mr Caines. 

Police are advising residents to report any suspicious behaviour around their homes and the sound of glass breaking, Mr Caines said. 

A second male suspect was arrested in connection with an alleged armed burglary that happened at a North Shore Road Hamilton Parish home last Friday. He remains in police custody and is expected to appear in court in “due course,” according to police. A man has already appeared in court in the case. 

A Devonshire resident recently recounted a harrowing home invasion that occurred last week,

The woman avoided the worst; thanks to her son coming home for lunch the burglars did not get away with anything of real value.

The Devonshire resident’s home was broken into late one morning within the last week. She suspects they watched her leave the house. When her son came home for lunch, the door was open. He saw two men walking around. He ran after them. A confrontation ensued. 

During the fracas, her son was struck over his head, but he managed to pull a raincoat of his off one of the intruders. Jewelry, along with regiment buttons, were stuffed into one of the jacket pockets. He was also able to get one of their helmets. The woman, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, is hopeful police can figure out whose helmet it is through fingerprint or DNA testing.

It appears as though the two intruders had been planning to take an assortment of electronics; they had organized various computer wares in a pile. The burglars also kicked the family dog, which has been walking with a limp since the break-in.

The resident had locked up the ground floor; the pair had climbed onto the roof of her kitchen and gained access through her bathroom window, she said.

“People should really be careful about locking their windows,” she said. “Everyone needs to keep an eye out for each other.”

Multiple incidents

The woman from Devonshire is not alone. She says she is aware of multiple homes that have been burglarized recently. Someone tried to gain access to a home her brother owns by breaking the entire bottom half-of-window. That burglary was interrupted by a house alarm. The perpetrators threw a stone through a window to gain access to the home.

A Smiths woman, also speaking on the condition of anonymity,  recently had her home burglarized. The thieves had gained access through a ground floor window. When she returned home, it was not clear if they were looking mainly for jewellery, sunglasses or handbags or, more accurately, the cash inside the handbags. They grabbed what they could and took off. The theft, she says, will also prompt her to keep more detailed records of all purchases, hang onto receipts and take photographs of jewellery pieces, she says.

She felt a mix of shock, dismay, anger, mistrust and vulnerability about the home invasion, she says.

“I plan to further secure my home and from now on [I’ll keep] my valuables in a safety deposit box as much as possible,” she said.