Arcadia neighborhood on edge after another hidden camera found outside of home
An Arcadia neighborhood is on edge after yet another hidden camera was found outside of a home early Tuesday morning.
The discovery was made as one neighbor and his dog were out for their morning walk. He says that his curious pup Cowboy was sniffing around in one specific spot, which piqued his own curiosity.
"My dog gets into stuff, you know, sniffing and trying to eat everything," said Chris Seymour, who found the camera. "So, I look down to see what he was doing ... right here was this, the camera, just kind face down."
The camera, cleverly camouflaged with fake leaves and hidden inside of a shrub, was well within view of several houses on Highland Oaks Drive.
"It was in the bush like about a foot off the ground," Seymour said. "I grabbed it and then when I turned it over, I could see that there was a lens."
People living in the area are on the lookout now, especially since it's the second hidden camera found in the neighborhood in the last few months.
"We have an alarm, we have dogs, we havre people coming and going most of the day, so our schedules are a little bit hard to keep track of," said Monique Howard, who lives near where the camera was found. "But, for people who are gone all day, it's really predictable, so it's kinda scary."
Police say that it's the new trend in crime, with burglars positioning the cameras to learn homeowner's routines, giving them all the information they need to know when to strike.
It's been an issue that has plagued much of Southern California, spanning across the region, including places like Glendale, Temecula, Upland, Agoura Hills, Chino Hills and Alhambra in just the span of a year.
In this case, however, police are unsure if the device had remote surveillance or if it was even recording.
"There wasn't any type of ancillary device, such as a portable WiFi battery-operated system, so we're not quite sure what we have yet," said Arcadia Police Department Lieutenant John Bonomo.
Because of this, they urge residents to search the areas around their homes as soon as possible, especially in their shrubs.