“I’m Away” and the Burglars Can Play

As reported by MSNBC and the Nashua Telegraph, a ring of three burglars searched social networking internet sites for personal "updates" and targeted the homes of victims that announced their vacation plans. 

Dozens of break-ins, accounting for more than $100,000 in stolen property, have been credited to two teenagers and one adult Massachusetts resident, recently arrested by the newly formed Nashua Police Department's two-man theft crime unit.

Detectives Dan Archambault and Robert MacLeod began their assignment with the new unit in May.

After 50 burglaries in August, the detectives tracked a large number of fireworks stolen.  Both detectives and patrol officers began to be on the lookout for anyone setting off fireworks. Officer Mike Dore heard them at a home on Amherst Street on August 28, investigated, and identified them as the stolen fireworks.

The investigation then led them discovering $100,000 to $200,000 in stolen property at 25 11^th  Street. Items included toys, flat-screen televisions, laptop computers, CDs, DVDs, video game systems and digital cameras.  Disassembled guns, and other gear stolen from a New Hampshire National Guard victim, were collected.  Police also seized approximately $8,600 in cash, and two vehicles belonging to the suspects.

When police secured the 11th Street house on September 1, two suspects tried to gain entry, were chased down by officers and apprehended.  Police determined that these two, Victor Rodriguez, 17, and Mario Rojas, 25, were allegedly responsible for the burglaries.  The third in the ring, Leonardo Barroso, 17, was arrested on September 7.

They have been charged with 18 burglaries so far.

Their victims were targeted because they talked about their vacations on the social networking site Facebook.  Facebook recently introduced a location-based program called "Places" where users can tell their friends were they are via their cellular phones.  Facebook has more than 500 million users.

Most of the burglaries occurred in broad daylight, when there was no chance of being surprised by any of the empty home's owners. 

Nashua Police Captain Ronald Dickerson said, "We know for a fact some of these players were identifying their victims from these social networking sites."

Police will now spend the next few weeks trying to match the property with victims from all over the city, and other towns.

The new burglary unit, in recognizing that most of the burglaries occurred when the home's owners were on vacation, is studying this new trend. 

The three suspects, unlike other burglars that sometimes steal to support drug habits, were making a career for themselves.  Chief Donald Conley said, "These three are in the business of burglarizing homes. It's what they did for a living and it wasn't going to stop."

Rojas is charged with eight counts of burglary, eight counts of theft by unauthorized taking and resisting detention.  Rodriguez is charged with three counts of burglary, three counts of theft by unauthorized taking and resisting detention.  Barroso is charged with five counts of burglary and four counts of unauthorized taking.

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