True crime: Home invaders nab jewelry

He was shocked by two men running out of his home.

Eleanor Toomey cares for her elderly husband. He is 83 and is not in good health, she says. On the afternoon of May 6, she decided to take a quick trip to the pharmacy. While she was out, two men pried open her backdoor.

“My husband was home. He was asleep,” she says. “I didn’t want to wake him up, so decided to just run out real fast.”

While he slept, the two men crept into the home.

“We have a sliding rear glass door, and they came through it into the kitchen,” Toomey says. “They just took a screwdriver and pried it open. They made a beeline straight back to the bedroom. They opened up a drawer and took all my jewelry.”

While the criminals rifled through drawers, Lawrence Toomey woke up, not realizing his wife has stepped out. He used a walker to make his way to the kitchen and sat down to drink a glass of water. Soon after, he witnessed the two men race out of a bedroom door off the patio.

“I’m just thankful he was asleep and really didn’t know they were here,” she says. “The police said since they targeted the jewelry, they were really professionals.”

Unfortunately, Toomey had been collecting jewelry for 60 years, worth thousands of dollars, and it is now gone.

Dallas Police Lt. Richard Dwyer of the North Central Patrol Division says his unit recently arrested a couple of men in connection with a string of residential burglaries in the area. One of the suspects admitted to the Toomey robbery, but had gotten rid of the jewelry, so it wasn’t recoverable.

Dwyer says there a number of ways to secure sliding glass doors.

“For extra security, homeowners can go to any home improvement store and look at the various locks and devices that will help secure a sliding glass door,” he says. “These items can range from key locks to screw-in blocks for the rail to poles or rods that will prevent the door from sliding.”

He also offered some tips on helping to identify expensive jewelry.

“It is a personal choice if [people] wish to place marks on their jewelry. Of course, many people have a name or words inscribed when given as a gift that helps with the identification,” he says. “Whether marked or unmarked, quality jewelry should be photographed and then kept with their home files. This may also help with issues from the insurance companies. Some burglars do know the difference between quality jewelry and department store jewelry, but the majority of the suspects grab it all since it is lightweight and easy to conceal.”

The Victim: Lawrence and Eleanor Toomey
The Crime: Burglary
Date: Friday, May 6
Time: 3 p.m.
Location: 7200 block of Aberdeen

10200

Block of Midway where a burglary occurred at Salvo Hair Designs. Although the door suffered $30 in damages, the only items stolen were two pairs of hair clippers.

19

Number of items a woman hid in her dress in an attempt to shoplift from the Burlington Coat Factory on Forest Lane. This was the third shoplifting from the store within five days.