While Victims Attend Funerals, Thieves Break Into Homes

In 12 burglary series, a group of suspected thieves targeted people at their most vulnerable: while they attended the funerals of loved ones, according to the El Cajon Police Department.

From January to May, police say the suspects scanned public obituaries online to get the names of people who recently died, as well as their cities and funeral times. Often, the obituaries would also list the deceased’s family and their location.

A quick search on the internet helped reveal the addresses of the family members. With all that information, the suspects would wait until the date of the funeral and break into the home of the deceased or their family member, either through an open window or force entry, according to police.

As this pattern emerged in east San Diego County, the similarities were noticed by San Diego Police, El Cajon Police and San Diego County Sheriff’s detectives. Sharing information, they identified three suspects – Herbert John Cruz, 34; David Andrew Valenzuela, 34; and Jennifer Lynn Alarcon, 33.

By Wednesday, all three had been taken into custody on suspicion of burglary.

When detectives served search warrants to the suspects’ home and storage lockers, they say they found many of the items stolen in the Spring Valley, El Cajon and San Diego burglaries. Police say altogether, the suspected thieves took an estimated $100,000 worth of property.

One of the suspects’ internet search history also confirmed the group’s “criminal intentions,” officials say.

El Cajon Police are now warning people to keep their windows and doors locked and to stay involved in neighborhood watch programs to prevent another series like this.

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