Palm Beach Post (Florida)
August 22, 2007 Wednesday
FINAL EDITION
NEIGHBORHOODS FACE RASH OF GENERATOR THEFTS

BYLINE: By ALEJANDRA CANCINO Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

SECTION: LOCAL; Pg. 3B

LENGTH: 477 words

DATELINE: WEST PALM BEACH

Pedro Blanco walked toward his back door and flicked the switch that turns on his patio light. It didn’t turn on, so he strained to look through the window but couldn’t see anything.

At 5:30 a.m., still dark, he opened the door and stepped outside. That’s when he realized his $3,500 generator was missing.

The thieves broke the lock of the door that leads to Blanco’s back yard, unscrewed a bulb, cut the chain he had put on his generator for additional security and lifted the 200-plus pound machine.

“I just bought it three months ago,” he said.

Blanco, 30, was one of at least five neighbors in the Parker Ridge Neighborhood who reported break-ins or thefts this month. About 3 1/2 miles north, at least six other houses were broken into in the Pineapple Park Neighborhood. Generators were stolen from three of them.

Rudy Gurrola, 48, bought his $500-$600 generator about a year and a half ago but never used it.

Burglars, he said, broke into the shed in the back of his house and took it. They also broke into his neighbor’s shed but didn’t take anything.

“Only three houses had something stolen — all generators,” he said.

Gurrola’s generator was stolen before dawn on Aug. 7, a day before Blanco’s generator was taken. Blanco’s neighbor, Margarita Hernandez, was also a target.

Hernandez’s $800 generator was stored in the laundry room in the back of her house, so when thieves broke into the room, they also took three gasoline containers and a box of Gain powder laundry detergent.

“They took the unopened box and left me the empty one,” she said.

Hernandez said police officers searched the room for prints but doesn’t know if they were able to get an ID.

They weren’t.

Peter Robbins, spokesman for the West Palm Beach Police Department, said there is no description of the thief or thieves. They suspect there is more than one because the generators are heavy.

He said this is a crime that increases every time there’s a storm. Hurricane Dean got people thinking about storms, including crooks. And the crime doesn’t stop in West Palm Beach; police departments in other cities also have similar reports, Robbins said.

Robbins said there are no reports of violence. Thieves try to get in the houses quietly and get out quickly.

But neighbors are worried about burglars returning.

“I make sure I put the alarm at night, but I have a dog I have to let out, and it’s scary that somebody could be in your back yard,” Gurrola said.

Blanco said he is upset the thieves took his generator, but in the end it’s a machine he could replace. His real worry is his wife’s well-being: “Every time I come home, I’m praying everything is here and no one is waiting.”

~ alejandra_cancino@pbpost.com

How to protect your equipment

West Palm Beach police recommend:

- Find a secure place. The garage might be better than a shed.

- Write down the serial number, brand and model.

- Engrave your name.