Victim hopes video catches burglars

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A burglary victim in Lakewood who said surveillance video captured the men who broke into his home and stole his electronics and jewelry has come forward hoping that footage and his story helps police catch the men he said are responsible.

The video was taken Tuesday morning at a home on North Peachtree Circle. In it two men can be seen forcing open the front door and ransacking the home, police said.

Keith Ketron, the homeowner, said he's frustrated because he worked hard for what he had and these guys didn't care, breaking in through his kitchen door and taking his big-screen TV. He said he wants them off the streets before they strike again.

"It clearly shows them taking my property out of my house. I don't know why else they would be at my house. I didn't invite them and I wasn't home," Ketron said.

                                   WATCH: Surveillance video of break-in

Ketron's security cameras caught the men in action, crisp video showing the break-in and robbery.

"(A) 55-inch, flat screen smart TV that I had saved up for, two years of saving my money, saving my pennies, putting everything together and somebody else is enjoying it now. I hope they enjoy it!" Ketron said.

He installed the cameras a few years ago with his burglar alarm which sounded, scaring off the men before police arrived.

"The footprint is still here. That is the footprint. He kicked the door and completely destroyed the door, ripped the jam out," Peter McDermott, the father of Ketron's neighbor, who also had their home burglarized, said.

Minutes before the burglary at Ketron's home, police said they believe the same guys busted into that home as well.

"They went in there so all the TVs, clothes, laptops, anything that they could walk off with (are gone)," McDermott said.

Detectives with the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office said they're having a big problem with burglaries in the area, police statistics show 27 home burglaries since the beginning of the year, including dozens of home and car break-ins near San Jose and University boulevards.

Those break-ins have caused Odie Dolores, a concerned neighbor, to organize a neighborhood watch.

"Enough is enough. We are tired. We are frightened," Dolores said.

Ketron hopes his surveillance video lands the bad guys behind bars.

"We have a lot of hard-working detectives and I think they will get caught," Ketron said. "There is no lawyer in Jacksonville that is going to get them off of this. Not with the video."

No one's been arrested so far but Jacksonville Sheriff's Office deputies have increased patrols in the area and have assigned detectives to try to solve the cases. They're not sure if all the break-ins are related or not but they're asking people to report any suspicious activity they see.

Rash of burglaries has neighbors on edge

Lakewood residents said they've been plagued with a string of burglaries and are now trying to start a neighborhood watch.

Residents said there have been about a dozen break-ins in the past few weeks within just a few blocks.

They said no one has been hurt, but they're worried about their safety, saying eventually, something really bad is going to happen.

Now, neighbors are banding together to banish the burglars.

"We have neighbors just down the street -- the truck actually backed up into her driveway with a ladder that they used to climb and get into her house," Odie Dolores said. 

Dolores has lived in Lakewood since the 1980s. She said it's a nice, quiet community, but lately, that image is changing.

"Enough is enough. We are tired. We are frightened, and we need some help," Dolores said. "It is to the point where I'm afraid somebody's going to get hurt."

She said many of her neighbors have fallen victim to having their cars broken into and homes invaded. In one case, a gun was stolen.

WATCH: Surveillance video of burglary suspects

"I have gone door to door to get their addresses, phone numbers," Dolores said.

She is working to get other neighbors to sign a petition, calling for an official neighborhood watch, and she's begging the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office for help.

Police records show 27 home burglaries since the beginning of the year, as well as 25 vehicle break-ins and 12 auto thefts.

"You're doing the right thing by getting the neighborhood watch started," News4Jax crime and safety analyst Gil Smith said.

Smith, a former JSO officer, said Dolores' plan to band together is a good one as long as everyone gets involved.

"Once you start the neighborhood watch, then the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office will come in and they will let you know what you need to do," Smith said. "They will show you how to go about doing it."

Officers have increased patrols in the area.

Many of the burglarized vehicles were left unlocked, and Smith said that's a reminder to make sure vehicle doors are locked at all times and valuables are out of sight.

There's no word yet on whether police believe the crimes are the work of just one person or multiple offenders but detectives do have surveillance video of a burglary in the nearby San Marco area, which they released Tuesday.

The video shows two men inside a home on North Peachtree Circle. Police said the men forced open the front door just after 9 a.m. Tuesday and ransacked the home, taking electronics and jewelry.

Anyone who has any information on the identity of the men is asked to contact the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office at 904-630-0500 or email JSOCrimeTips@jaxsheriff.org. To remain anonymous and receive a possible reward up to $3,000, contact Crime Stoppers at 1-866-845-TIPS. 


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