Economy drives higher level home invasions

[Kentucky]

http://www.abcactionnews.com/news/l...ing-home-invasion/41-WJwVXk0GGBeux22_EfA.cspx

Teen called 911 from shower during home invasion
Reported by: Keith Baker
Email: [email protected]
Last Update: 8/12 7:47 pm
Related Links

* Four men sought after Bradenton home invasion
* Woman injured in Bradenton home invasion robbery

MANATEE COUNTY, FL -- Deputies are looking for suspects following a home invasion Tuesday night.

A 14-year-old girl hid in the shower when two armed men broke into her Willows Bridge Loop home shortly before midnight. Deputies went to the home after a frantic call to 9-1-1 that someone was in the house.

The caller said one of the men was wearing camouflage clothes and a protective vest while holding an AK-47 weapon and the other suspect had dark clothing and a handgun.

Deputies arrived and saw two to three men running from the home. They were seen getting into a maroon colored Dodge Neon parked nearby.

A deputy told the suspects to show their hands as he approached the car. The driver took off in reverse, driving between two houses before hitting a utility meter and one of the home's A/C unit.

Two suspects abandoned the car and even though detectives used a K-9 unit to aid in the search, they got away.

A search of the car turned up a handgun.

Afterward, the girl told detectives she heard noise in the home. She said she hid in the bathroom and called 9-1-1.

One of the suspects managed to get into the locked bathroom and found her hiding in the shower and demanded money. When asked whom she had called the teen told the suspect she called her mom.

The teen was not harmed.

 

[dom1104]

wow, 14 year old in the bathroom, police get their too late, this story could have been a lot worse.

home invaders toting AKs. wonderfull.

 

[jn1965]

This one is worse...
BRADENTON, FL -- Manatee County deputies are searching for three men who broke into a home early Wednesday morning, and pistol-whipped a woman.

Deputies say the men beat through the door of a locked apartment on E. 26th Street. The men carried a rifle and a pistol, and demanded money from two women inside the apartment.

One of the women, Wanda Negron, tried to fight with the suspects, and they used one of the guns to hit her on her face.

Negron was not seriously hurt.

Deputies say a neighbor saw the suspects leaving in a white Ford truck. They didn't take anything from the apartment.
Copyright 2008 The E.W. Scripps Co. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

 

[CoRoMo]

Economy drives...

Who says?

 

[Butter]

Gotta agree....malicious intent and evil aren't necessarily prodded by bad downturns in the economy. There are plenty of people down on their luck that don't think to do home invasion robberies.

 

[cbm1948]

Some folks are just damn mean. I like the defense "Judge he needed killin."

 

[jimmyraythomason]

Evil is not dependent on the economy. Honest people do not turn violent because of it either.

 

[Jeff White]

None of these home invasions are driven by the economy. They are driven by the same factors that always drive home invasions, drugs, personal disputes, drugs....

Bradenton isn't exactly a high income low crime area. Here are the crime stats:

http://bradenton.areaconnect.com/crime1.htm

Home invasion is still the crime you are probably the least likely to be a victim of unless you or someone in your household is part of the drug trade, you keep large amounts of cash, negotiable securities, high dollar jewelry in your home and that fact is common knowledge, you or a member of your immediate family is employed as a bank, armored car company, jeweler or other profession where you would have keys alarm codes and combinations to access large amounts of cash, securities, jewelry or other high value items at your place of employment.

Don't deal drugs or live with people who do, don't hang with crazy people who live a criminal lifestyle or allow people living in your household to, don't keep large amounts of cash, securities or jewelry in your home and you will most likely never be the victim of a home invasion robbery.

 

[mbt2001]

The caller said one of the men was wearing camouflage clothes and a protective vest while holding an AK-47 weapon and the other suspect had dark clothing and a handgun.

I am not sure how the caller would know that, but SUPPOSING she did, the level of perps wearing body armor is getting higher and higher. Worth taking note... North Hollywood anyone?

FYI most of the PASGT and related surplus vests out there will stop a .38 and .45.

 

[sidheshooter]

Home invasion is still the crime you are probably the least likely to be a victim of unless you or someone in your household is part of the drug trade, you keep large amounts of cash, negotiable securities, high dollar jewelry in your home and that fact is common knowledge, you or a member of your immediate family is employed as a bank, armored car company, jeweler or other profession where you would have keys alarm codes and combinations to access large amounts of cash, securities, jewelry or other high value items at your place of employment.

You've pointed this out before, and no doubt it is true. What I'd be interested in, however, is stats on whether or not the *exceptions* that prove the rule are on the increase. I can only speak for my own town on this; the last several home invasions that made the press here made the press precisely because they didn't fit the standard pattern (I posted then-current links here at the time of the last thread we bandied about on this topic).

Those invasions were pretty much just random scumbags going into random homes for random reasons (insofar as we can define "random" as "not fitting the criteria that you lay out above". Obviously, no decision, even the most short-term by the most deranged, is made without some sort of outside stimulus...).

Again, I personally feel that your observation is correct but, perhaps alarmingly, becoming incrementally less so with the passage of time as some segments of our society slowly go crazy and stop giving a damn, generation by generation. Whatever the reason, the random invasion does happen; the question is only “how often, really?”

But I don't have access to the stats. All I've got are local anecdotes, and these now include some armed invasions for no other apparent reason than Sir Edmund Hillary's favorite quote (originally referring to the logic of climbing of Mount Everest) "because it was there."

I'd be curious to see if this phenomenon is on the rise elsewhere in the US

 

[Carl Levitian]

I do know that here in the suburbs of Washington D.C. we had a rash of home invasions of elderly women by a lone male. They were targeted because they would be an easier victim. The guy was caught though.

As a senior citizen, I feel the wolves closer at he back of the herd these days.

 

[nitetrane98]

They were seen getting into a maroon colored Dodge Neon parked nearby.

Who says times aren't hard? BG's using a universally acknowledged chick car, the Dodge Neon, for a getaway car. At least it wasn't a Mazda Miata or VW bug.
"Where are we going? And why are we in this basket?"

 

[Jeff White]

Again, I personally feel that your observation is correct but, perhaps alarmingly, becoming incrementally less so with the passage of time as some segments of our society slowly go crazy and stop giving a damn, generation by generation. Whatever the reason, the random invasion does happen; the question is only “how often, really?”

Before we can answer that we have to agree on a definition of home invasion. Not all states even have a crime that is called home invasion. Add into the mix the tendency of the press to report burglaries as home invasions it's hard to draw any conclusions based on news reports. How many times here in this forum have followup stories confirmed that yes, that home invasion by a gang of armed was really drug related?

I define home invasion the way it's defined in the Illinois Compiled Statutes:
http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilc...SeqEnd=24400000&ActName=Criminal+Code+of+1961.

(720 ILCS 5/12‑11) (from Ch. 38, par. 12‑11)
Sec. 12‑11. Home Invasion.
(a) A person who is not a peace officer acting in the line of duty commits home invasion when without authority he or she knowingly enters the dwelling place of another when he or she knows or has reason to know that one or more persons is present or he or she knowingly enters the dwelling place of another and remains in such dwelling place until he or she knows or has reason to know that one or more persons is present and
(1) While armed with a dangerous weapon, other than a firearm, uses force or threatens the imminent use of force upon any person or persons within such dwelling place whether or not injury occurs, or
(2) Intentionally causes any injury, except as provided in subsection (a)(5), to any person or persons within such dwelling place, or
(3) While armed with a firearm uses force or threatens the imminent use of force upon any person or persons within such dwelling place whether or not injury occurs, or
(4) Uses force or threatens the imminent use of force upon any person or persons within such dwelling place whether or not injury occurs and during the commission of the offense personally discharges a firearm, or
(5) Personally discharges a firearm that proximately causes great bodily harm, permanent disability, permanent disfigurement, or death to another person within such dwelling place, or
(6) Commits, against any person or persons within that dwelling place, a violation of Section 12‑13, 12‑14, 12‑14.1, 12‑15, or 12‑16 of the Criminal Code of 1961.
(b) It is an affirmative defense to a charge of home invasion that the accused who knowingly enters the dwelling place of another and remains in such dwelling place until he or she knows or has reason to know that one or more persons is present either immediately leaves such premises or surrenders to the person or persons lawfully present therein without either attempting to cause or causing serious bodily injury to any person present therein.
(c) Sentence. Home invasion in violation of subsection (a)(1), (a)(2) or (a)(6) is a Class X felony. A violation of subsection (a)(3) is a Class X felony for which 15 years shall be added to the term of imprisonment imposed by the court. A violation of subsection (a)(4) is a Class X felony for which 20 years shall be added to the term of imprisonment imposed by the court. A violation of subsection (a)(5) is a Class X felony for which 25 years or up to a term of natural life shall be added to the term of imprisonment imposed by the court.
(d) For purposes of this Section, "dwelling place of another" includes a dwelling place where the defendant maintains a tenancy interest but from which the defendant has been barred by a divorce decree, judgment of dissolution of marriage, order of protection, or other court order.
(Source: P.A. 90‑787, eff. 8‑14‑98; 91‑404, eff. 1‑1‑00; 91‑928, eff. 6‑1‑01.)

However in the press a burglary that occurs when the residence is occupied or even an ordinary burglary are often reported as home invasions in the news accounts. Another thing that skews the perception is that the police almost never release to the press that the home invasion was drug related, those facts usually come out later if at all. To find out the real motivation you often have to know someone on the PD or know the victims, or look at the locations they happen in and draw your own conclusions.

Criminals are basically lazy. It's a lot of trouble to jock up and kick in doors. The return on getting a group of criminals together and breaking down doors of homes that they don't know what they contain is pretty small. Add into that the fact that the police and the courts take those kinds of crime very seriously and there is a strong likely hood of getting caught, and if you are convicted of home invasion you are going to do some serious prison time. Why do they do home invasions to rip each other off, because they know that often these crimes aren't reported.

Any crime where someone enters an occupied residence gets a lot of attention from the police. We had a burglar who was entering the homes of elderly people in the dead of night while they were sleeping and the small department I was working for spent an untold amount of money on overtime and plainclothes foot patrols until he was caught.

Home invasion is the internet gun culture's favorite crime to talk about. Hollywood likes to use home invasion scenarios in the movies, everyone is exposed to thousands of them in the movies and on tv. Why do you think that is? It's because it plays on the basic fear everyone has of not being secure in their own home. People take their Hollywood experience and then read the news accounts and suddenly it's a very real fear to them, no matter how unrealistic a threat it may be.

Yes there are some random home invasions done by psychopaths for various reasons, but they are the exception not the rule.

 

[sidheshooter]

...It's a lot of trouble to jock up and kick in doors. The return on getting a group of criminals together and breaking down doors of homes that they don't know what they contain is pretty small.

...Yes there are some random home invasions done by psychopaths for various reasons, but they are the exception not the rule.

Again, no disagreement (with any of your post). I'm only pointing out that exactly this exception has indeed happened in my town in the last several years, more than once. Now, *that*, strikes me as new.

FWIW.

 

[Grey_Mana]

Don't deal drugs or live with people who do, don't hang with crazy people who live a criminal lifestyle or allow people living in your household to, don't keep large amounts of cash, securities or jewelry in your home and you will most likely never be the victim of a home invasion robbery.

Was leaving forcible rape off the list an oversight?

 

[3pairs12]

If they were driven by the economy or drugs I don't care too much. It is best to never get to comfortable with your surroundings. A home invasion can happen anytime anywhere in the best/worst economy.

 

[Fred Fuller]

Yes, it's possible. Not awfully likely for most people here, but possible. Here in our neighborhood in the past few years, there have been two that I know of. One was a 'rock monster' (crackhead) breaking in in search of something to finance his next rock. Unfortunately the window he chose to try to get in through was the homeowner's bedroom, and said homeowner blew him right back out the window with a shotgun.

More recent was the one where a sweet young thing knocked at the door pleading car trouble. When the door was opened, her two male accomplices burst into the house. In the subsequent uproar, the elderly father of the homeowner was shot and died at the scene. Thing was, the homeowner was a known recreational pharmaceuticals vendor, and the home invaders were looking to steal drugs and money.

Reasonable precautions and awareness levels should suffice to lessen or eliminate the risk of home invasion for most of us. Lock the doors, pay attention to what's going on, don't get suckered into a sob story and drop your guard. Carry a gun at home. Etc.

lpl