FREMONT — Police here are investigating a residential burglary where the victim came home to discover $2.32 million in cash and valuables was missing from the home, this news organization has learned.
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Authorities say the June 19 burglary fits into a pattern with other similar incidents around Alameda County and the South Bay, including a suspicious incident two days earlier in Fremont. The earlier call involved a resident on Falcon Drive who observed a man installing a trail camera in a tree, pointed at a neighborhood residence, in what police believe was an opportunity to study the victim’s habits.
Trail cameras are typically battery-powered camouflaged devices, which can be remotely accessed, and are intended for use by hunters or land stewards. They’ve also become a tool of sophisticated burglary crews, who can use them to figure out when a victim will leave their home or business unoccupied, according to authorities.
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On June 19 burglars used a saw to cut through a garage door on Avalon Heights Terrace, and smashed through a sliding glass window to get into the home. They made off with $2 million in gold and jewelry, $250,000 in cash, and other valuables, including handbags and a pink Rolex watch, authorities said.
Authorities say they’ve identified other burglaries around the Bay Area that fit the same modus operandi, where suspects wear disguises to appear to be professionals working at the homes or making deliveries. But the hauls weren’t always the same; in one of them the thieves made off only with a fake diamond worth less than $200.
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No arrests have been announced.
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