ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – When a woman living in a St. Augustine home came home from work Monday, opened the garage door, and noticed that the door to the house was open, she knew something was wrong.
Monica Thurston then called police, who made a concerning discovery when they found out what had been stolen.
The report says that the burglars got away with seven guns, three of them shotguns; a pearl handled handgun; a .30-.30 rifle; a .30 06 rifle; and an elephant gun. The crooks also got away with 10,000 rounds of ammunition.
"Having so many weapons stolen, there's a good chance they will try to sell them, but there is a chance they will be used to commit other crimes," News4Jax crime and safety analyst Gil Smith said.
Smith says that it's important for gun owners to keep track of the model and serial number of all of their guns in case they are stolen so that pawn shops can be looking out for them if someone comes in trying to sell them.
He also says they should look for certain things when buying a gun safe.
"Sometimes people look for gun safes that are fireproof. That is not as important as one that is burglary-proof. Home burglaries happen far more often than fires. That is the most important thing," Smith said.
The area of St. Johns County where the burglary happened isn't a highly populated one. The two neighbors in the area say they didn't see anything happening around the house that was broken into.
Smith says that in such a rural area, it's important to have an alarm on your house.
"You want neighbors to hear the alarm or the burglars to know that someone might hear the alarm. That's what they fear the most, any type of sound like that, a loud sound. They are going to take off. With fewer people there, that could have an impact," explained Smith.
Anyone with information about the burglary is asked to call St. Johns County Crime Stoppers at 888-277-TIPS.