TEMECULA, CA - Detectives with various police departments in Southern California have reason to believe that "burglary tourists" from South America have been sneaking in recording devices onto the lawns of homes to track the movements of the residents to determine the best time to break and steal valuables.
According to the Press-Enterprise, one resident was confused after discovering two devices, including a camera with a lens poking through a leaf taped to it, hidden in the planter in his front yard earlier this month. He realized that the camera was pointed toward a neighbor's home. In response, he told reporters, "Why is this here? What is the purpose? Is this here for a kidnapping? Is this here for a home invasion?"
The resident, who didn't want to be identified for fear of retaliation, is not the only person questioning this behavior. In the next county, Chino Hills, a systems analyst for a Pomona hospital was puzzled after learning that his home was in the direct line of a camera buried at the base of a tree across the street and directed toward his neighbor's home.
The resident, 69-year-old Steve Hippler, has lived in his Glen Ridge Drive home for 38 years. He said, "It's kind of strange. I don't get the purpose." While the residents may be confused, police departments in the area are not, including the Glendale Police Department (GPD). Glendale detectives began hearing about the tactic back in December 2023, according to Sgt. Vahe Abramyan.
Abramyan, a GPD spokesman said, "They're using these sophisticated devices to gain access into homes. The whole point of the cameras is to put them in bushes and trees just outside the property they are interested in and they will use the footage to see the behaviors of the house — who lives there, who goes in and out, what happens during the day. That way they can focus their attention on the timespan when no one is home."
GPD figured out the mystery when on May 20th, a sergeant on patrol as part of a burglary task force created back in 2023 amid a rise in break-ins, pulled over a car whose headlights were out. During the traffic stop, officers detained four Colombian men and found a visual recording device and a battery pack charging system camouflaged with leaves.
One of those men had been arrested a month prior at the end of a vehicle pursuit during which the suspects threw a Wi-Fi signal jammer used to disable home security systems out of the car's window. Abramyan said that these gangs enter the country on "tourist visas" adding, "They're obviously not coming here to be tourists. They're coming here to burglarize homes."
He said that they typically case homes in more affluent neighborhoods, but Hippler, the resident in Chino Hills was left confused because his neighborhood has older, mostly middle-class homes, which according to Sgt. Abramyan is not the typical target. Hippler said, "There are dozens of homes a block away that are more affluent. Anything up that street is like a freaking mansion compared to this place."
The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department (SBCSD), which is the body investigating that particular case, has discussed the crimes with GPD in an effort to find out if they are connected. According to spokeswoman Gloria Huerta, "We have not identified a person nor a motive." Police in the cities of San Bernardino and Riverside as well as several Orange County cities said they have not received any reports of hidden cameras.
In Santa Ana, someone had been following a business owner and set up a camera in a tree near his home. According to Officer Natalie Garcia, a Santa Ana Police Department spokeswoman, the burglars went directly into the victim's bedroom and stole an estimated $300,000 worth of jewelry and other valuables.
Sgt. Abramyan urges residents to be extra vigilant about their surroundings, adding, "If you have yards, look through them to make sure nothing is hidden." The people of Temecula have responded to those wise words with the Temecula resident mentioned above saying, "Everybody I talked to said, 'I read it on Facebook and ran out to my garden.' There's a new type of threat out there that we didn't know existed."
According to the Press-Enterprise, one resident was confused after discovering two devices, including a camera with a lens poking through a leaf taped to it, hidden in the planter in his front yard earlier this month. He realized that the camera was pointed toward a neighbor's home. In response, he told reporters, "Why is this here? What is the purpose? Is this here for a kidnapping? Is this here for a home invasion?"
The resident, who didn't want to be identified for fear of retaliation, is not the only person questioning this behavior. In the next county, Chino Hills, a systems analyst for a Pomona hospital was puzzled after learning that his home was in the direct line of a camera buried at the base of a tree across the street and directed toward his neighbor's home.
The resident, 69-year-old Steve Hippler, has lived in his Glen Ridge Drive home for 38 years. He said, "It's kind of strange. I don't get the purpose." While the residents may be confused, police departments in the area are not, including the Glendale Police Department (GPD). Glendale detectives began hearing about the tactic back in December 2023, according to Sgt. Vahe Abramyan.
Abramyan, a GPD spokesman said, "They're using these sophisticated devices to gain access into homes. The whole point of the cameras is to put them in bushes and trees just outside the property they are interested in and they will use the footage to see the behaviors of the house — who lives there, who goes in and out, what happens during the day. That way they can focus their attention on the timespan when no one is home."
GPD figured out the mystery when on May 20th, a sergeant on patrol as part of a burglary task force created back in 2023 amid a rise in break-ins, pulled over a car whose headlights were out. During the traffic stop, officers detained four Colombian men and found a visual recording device and a battery pack charging system camouflaged with leaves.
One of those men had been arrested a month prior at the end of a vehicle pursuit during which the suspects threw a Wi-Fi signal jammer used to disable home security systems out of the car's window. Abramyan said that these gangs enter the country on "tourist visas" adding, "They're obviously not coming here to be tourists. They're coming here to burglarize homes."
He said that they typically case homes in more affluent neighborhoods, but Hippler, the resident in Chino Hills was left confused because his neighborhood has older, mostly middle-class homes, which according to Sgt. Abramyan is not the typical target. Hippler said, "There are dozens of homes a block away that are more affluent. Anything up that street is like a freaking mansion compared to this place."
The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department (SBCSD), which is the body investigating that particular case, has discussed the crimes with GPD in an effort to find out if they are connected. According to spokeswoman Gloria Huerta, "We have not identified a person nor a motive." Police in the cities of San Bernardino and Riverside as well as several Orange County cities said they have not received any reports of hidden cameras.
In Santa Ana, someone had been following a business owner and set up a camera in a tree near his home. According to Officer Natalie Garcia, a Santa Ana Police Department spokeswoman, the burglars went directly into the victim's bedroom and stole an estimated $300,000 worth of jewelry and other valuables.
Sgt. Abramyan urges residents to be extra vigilant about their surroundings, adding, "If you have yards, look through them to make sure nothing is hidden." The people of Temecula have responded to those wise words with the Temecula resident mentioned above saying, "Everybody I talked to said, 'I read it on Facebook and ran out to my garden.' There's a new type of threat out there that we didn't know existed."
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