Door-knock burglars target San Jose neighborhood

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) -- So-called "door-knock" burglars are apparently zeroing in on the Evergreen District in San Jose. One recent victim is a well-known entertainer.

Kristin Pham showed ABC7 News how the burglars broke into her home three weeks ago.

"They came in right here and they came out right there," she said.

Home security video shows two young men showed up at the front door. They knocked but no one was home. So they went to the back and broke in through an unlocked bedroom window. The burglars ransacked the house, going through drawers and closets room by room.

Pham estimates her loss at about $100,000. She's a popular Vietnamese singer who had lots of expensive designer luxury items.

"They took all of my Rolex watches, my husband's Rolex watch and all of my jewelry from my wedding gifts and all the valuable handbag," Pham said.

The burglars even took her expensive liquor, leaving only their boxes behind.

Once they got their loot, the thieves left through a side door.

Other neighbors in this neighborhood had also recently been burglarized. Trisha Shelvin's mother lives on the same street. She says her mother actually interrupted a burglary in progress. She happened to look out her bedroom window one morning at the house across the street.

"She saw two men across the street in the back yard trying to open some windows so like a good neighbor, she opened her window and yelled at them and startled them so they took off running," Shelvin said.

Because of the police staffing shortage, burglaries are now the lowest priority among the department's core crimes.

"We have a public safety crisis here and things like burglaries are going un-investigated and they're running rampant," San Jose Police Officers Association spokesperson James Gonzales said.

Neighbors here believe the burglars are taking advantage of that shortage.

Get more South Bay News »

crime, caught on tape, san jose, south bay news, vic lee

• Comment Now
• Email
• Print
• Report a typo
•