Burglar Strikes While Resident Out of Town

police are investigating the theft of four jewelry boxes and a laptop from a Belle Meade Street home that happened while the homeowner was out of town for the holidays.

It is the first reported burglary of the year and the first the department has had in quite a while, maybe more than a year, officers said Wednesday.

Officers were called to the home Tuesday, Jan. 3, after the 75-year-old homeowner returned to find her front door and a rear-facing sliding glass door unlocked, a rear-facing garage door pried open and the house disheveled from being ransacked, according to a report. 

The woman told police she left her home Dec. 23 to be with relatives out of town for the holidays. She left about 1 p.m. and had shut off all the lights and locked all the doors and windows before leaving. She did not alert police about her departure and did not have anyone checking in on the house during her time away. 

In addition to the pry marks on the garage door, officers found pry marks on a desk inside the home. Drawers and cabinets throughout the house had been ransacked during the crime, according to a report. 

The woman reported that at least four jewelry boxes had been stolen along with a laptop. She was unsure of exactly what jewelry was inside the boxes and pointed out to Detective Scott Rohr that the burglar left many other valuables behind, he said. 

In addition to the jewelry and computer, several table linens were stolen. The woman estimated the value for all of the items to be at least a few thousand dollars, Rohr said. 

Rohr said he is investigating leads in the burglary, which appears to have been committed by someone who was looking for quick cash. Neighbors told officers they did not hear any noises or notice anything out of the ordinary in the last few weeks.

It is the first burglary in the Shores in quite some time. On Thursday, outgoing Public Safety Director Stephen Poloni said he believed it was the first in more than a year. 

According to the 2010 Shores Public Safety Annual Report, the department investigated one burglary in each 2010 and 2009. The figures for 2011 are still being compiled but the 2010 report shows the city spiked in the number of burglaries in 2007 and 2008 with six and four, respectively.

Officers did photograph the Belle Meade home in its state of disarray and attempted to gather physical evidence, such as fingerprints, according to a report. Meanwhile, Rohr asked the resident to try to find paperwork on any of the stolen items, such as the laptop, for the investigation.