Police Investigate String Of Brazen Robberies In Bedford
BEDFORD, N.Y. (CBS 2 / WCBS 880) -- Police in Westchester County were sent scrambling by a string of door-to-door burglaries in Bedford.
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WCBS 880's Catherine Cioffi reports
The criminal crew is hitting the neighborhood hard and often. They committed seven brazen burglaries in the town Tuesday, all in rapid succession and in broad daylight.
"Everything was fast – it was very fast, it was just quick, right through, pull things down, and onto the next house," one homeowner said.
The two burglars reportedly pose as a lost couple looking for directions. They knock on the door or ring the doorbell, and if you're home and give them directions, they're on their way. It's when they don't get a response, when nobody's home, that they start looking for a way to get inside.
In some cases, a door was left unlocked. In all of the cases, the alarm was not set.
Bedford police began getting calls just as the sun was setting.
"It was just multiple calls, people getting home and finding their homes ransacked," Bedford Police Lieutenant Jeff Dickens said.
The thieves were picky – they skipped wrapped Christmas presents and laptops, instead searching in seemingly unlikely places for cash and jewelry.
"They actually opened up this dollhouse, and opened up all the little drawers that were in here, looking for whatever," one victim said. "They came into this closet, pulled everything out, and found a crawl space, and went into that too."
In one case, police say, people were in the house with the thieves, but didn't know it. The homeowner said the thieves left some loot behind during their escape.
"The jewelry was found right in the powder room sink," he said. "They probably left, and the officers believe they were hiding in here."
The thieves may also have left a clue – a footprint.
Police have that clue and a description, at least of the female culprit. She's 25 to 30 years old, African American, well-dressed, with red hair and no accent.
Police in several nearby towns are coordinating their efforts to find the door-to-door burglars before they swoop into another neighborhood.
