Thousand Oaks City Watch Update 2/2/10: Help Identify a 1/21/10 Thousand Oaks Bank Robbery Suspect

Here is the latest "City Watch" alert from Deputy Jim DeSoto of the Thousand Oaks Police Department. If you would like these updates directly from him via email, click here for more information.

Crime Fighters,

The recent rains kept most of us off the streets but the foul weather did not pen-up the crooks. Criminals do not need the cover of rain or darkness to hide their evil deeds as most of the crimes I am going to write about happened during the day.

Those unattended vehicles at the dog park, workout facilities and trailheads are being targeted once again and it may be the same group of criminals hitting these places. No one ever thinks that their vehicle will be broken into at the dog park because of the close proximity of the parking lot to the field, but this happening with greater frequency. That vehicle driving around the dirt parking lot may not be a dog owner going to exercise his dog and the same is for that vehicle driving around your favorite gym. Thefts from vehicles at workout facilities continue to be a problem.

Trailheads, regardless of location, have always been a popular place for crooks to do their illegal shopping. Vehicles are left unattended for long periods of time and this gives the crooks ample time and usually plenty of vehicle selection on which car to break into and rummage through. Lately, the crooks have most often chosen the Wildwood trailhead as the place to do their shopping. Go out and enjoy the outdoors and the wonderful, beautiful scenery we have; but please do not keep anything in the vehicle that you do not want the crooks to leave with. Remember, a great deal of your life is in those laptops, wallets, purses and backpacks. Stop identity theft by leaving your personal information at home or lock the articles in the trunk before you get to your destination.

The number of residential burglaries has declined but a few thoughts are worth sharing. Victims continue to leave garage doors open, which says, “Take what you want.”  Many of the homes in our area also have doors that access the house for the garage. Another residential burglary had as its access point the doggie door. Remember to also keep those doors locked as your safety is also at risk when you leave both the garage door and the inside access door open and unlocked.

Crimes in our area are of two types, non-violent and violent. In Thousand Oaks we feel very safe because violent crime, although it does occur, is not the norm for this area. We do experience, however, a lot of non-violent crime which predominately consists of thefts. These crimes are the standard but too much of it is happening. In one residential burglary, the culprit forced open a front window. This person obviously did not fear anyone would report him because he entered the house via a window facing the street. No one was paying attention! We need to look after each other to protect us all from the bad guys as the crooks count on people not paying attention and not wanting to get involved.

A good friend of mine relayed a story to me about a friend being scammed on the phone by a solicitor claiming to be with a law enforcement agency. This scammer was asking for donations and, unfortunately, the victim was tricked into giving some pertinent financial information. Make no mistake; no law enforcement agency will ever solicit donations or contributions or ask for bank and credit card numbers over the telephone. If you suspect anyone of trying to deceive you, ask questions from them like a phone number, their name, a supervisor’s name, the address of their agency, a website address, etc. Let’s put the crooks on their heels.

The Wells Fargo bank on Arboles was robbed two weeks ago and robber is still in hiding. Let’s capture the criminal and dress him in inmate clothing.

Note from Conejo Joe: DO YOU RECOGNIZE HIM?? Check out other bank robber pictures at www.labankrobbers.org/Bandit_Photos_home.htm

As always, call detectives at 805-494-8201 if you have information regarding criminal cases and call dispatch at 805-654-9511 to request an officer.

I have always warned about strangers at your front door and two recent events reinforce this caution. In Oxnard, a homeowner shot an intruder after the would-be-thief rang the doorbell, got no response and attempted to break-into the rear of the residence. The crook paid for his criminal behavior. In Camarillo, the would-be-thief employed the same tactic as in the Oxnard shooting and again someone was inside the home but this resident was not armed. The thief was scared off by the resident but he resident first called a family member instead of the police. I have read this tidbit in other reports. If a crime is happening or just occurred, please call law enforcement first so we a better chance of apprehending the bad guys.

A young lady was on her way to the local gym in the early morning hours. A male suspect, in a different vehicle, tricked her into believing that she had a flat tire. The victim stopped in the parking lot and the suspect got into the victim’s vehicle and inappropriately touched the victim. Although this happened in another city, this crime can easily happen here to anyone. Please be attentive, wise and discerning at all times.

Finally, a great observation was made by a resident who reported teenagers climbing the fence at Redwood Middle School in the early evening hours. The deputies responded and caught a would-be-tagger while the others scampered away. This is a great example on how we should work together and look after each other.

Be safe and take care,

Jim (DeSoto)