Breaker Box Break-Ins May Be Spreading To Rocklin
ROCKLIN (CBS13) — Bonnie Puleo was getting ready for bed, when suddenly the lights went out throughout her house.
"Well, my first thought was, well, the electricity's gone out in the neighborhood," she said.
But everyone else in the neighborhood still had power. Her husband went outside to find someone had shut off their electricity at the breaker box.
"It's weird somebody would go into your breaker box and shut off a main breaker, that alone is very strange," she said.
Nobody actually broke in, and they never saw a suspect, so they figured someone pulled a prank. That was until Rocklin Police put out an unsettling alert.
It turns out they weren't alone. Police are worried a national crime trend where burglars shut off power at the breaker box is coming to the Sacramento suburb.
In a breaker box break-in, burglars shut off power at the breaker box as a trick to see if anyone is home before breaking in.
Near their home, the power has been shot off at six other homes in recent weeks. Rocklin Police have also heard of a similar incident in Fair Oaks.
Actual burglaries like this have been reported in Southern California, Orlando, Phoenix and Nashville to name a few.
Rocklin Police aren't sure if it's a prank, especially since there haven't been any burglaries to go along with the power shutoffs. But they are concerned crooks could be looking for a crime of opportunity.
"One of the things they would do is turn off the power, they could assume nobody's home," said Lt. Scott Horrillo.
Neighbors like Frank Fernandez aren't taking chances. He's locking up his breaker box, just in case.
"I actually have a few extra padlocks sitting around so it's probably a good idea to keep it locked," he said.
Even if it is a prank, it could be a dangerous one if power is shut off at a home where life-sustaining health equipment is in use.
