'They Used A Crowbar' Newton Neighborhoods Targeted In Series Of Housebreaks
NEWTON (CBS) -- Newton police are investigating a string of housebreaks in the Newton Highlands/Waban area during a short period of time on the evening of March 15.
"They used a crowbar," said Steve Nedeljkovic, pointing to the kitchen window that an intruder or intruders pried open, breaking the latch to gain entry. He and his wife Rose were both upstairs and Rose still awake.
"I saw him next to the door where he was sleeping. I didn't say anything I was so afraid," said Rose Nedeljkovic. Someone had climbed the stairs to the second floor but may have been scared off when Rose called out. "I said, 'Who is that? Who is that?'"
It was one of six house breaks, three of them while residents were in their homes. Streets like Hinckley, Harrison, Winslow, and Maryellen, all in the same vicinity, were targeted with break-ins through a door or window.
Mark Peraner and his wife didn't even hear the intruders when they climbed a chair and made it onto a back porch roof to gain entry, also breaking the window latch. His wife only made the discovery in the morning.
"She said to me, 'I think we've been broken into.' I said, 'What are you talking about?' and she said the window was wide open," said Peraner.
Some of the homeowners believe they were targeted because of their location. Their homes are along conservation land that is isolated and not well lit.
"That's what makes the breaks more troubling is that they are occurring when people are home," said Newton police Lt. Bruce Apotheker.
Valuables were take in only one home, and police believe it's the same crooks in each case, including a new break-in reported on Thursday. Police say they need the eyes and ears of the community before it happens again.