Plymouth police said a home invasion occurred early Monday morning while the homeowners were asleep. Police told Alpha News the exact time of the incident is unknown, but cash, gift cards, tools, car keys and small electronics were taken from the home.
According to a Plymouth neighborhood page, the invasion happened around Old Rockford Road and Peony Lane North.
Police said the house was broken into “through a sliding glass door that was potentially left open, but that’s not confirmed.”
Plymouth Police Captain Michael Reed told Alpha News that he’s unaware of any leads; Reed assumes there were no security cameras the night of the invasion.
Per Community Crime Map, up until June 2, there have been 24 total commercial and home burglaries in Plymouth alone this year. That’s down from last year around the same time when there were 35 burglaries.
Number of burglaries stagnant
Reed said they’re not seeing any significant changes to the number of burglaries this year, but crime in general has gone down compared to last year. He said there has been a decrease in the amount of occupied burglaries, which means more often than not, people were not home when a home invasion occurred.
Reed noted that burglaries that involved people leaving their cars in the driveway with garage door openers inside spiked last year around this time.
“So they would make entry into the car, get to the garage door opener and then open up the garage,” Reed explained. “Then through the service door, make entry into the house. So, that was the trend. That was a huge increase, not only for Plymouth but for the surrounding metro area.”
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Posted in a Plymouth neighborhood group. Resident says their home was broken into and burglarized while they were sleeping.
. pic.twitter.com/tmnA4N7MbD— CrimeWatchMpls (@CrimeWatchMpls) June 2, 2022
Safety tips
The Plymouth Police Department advises residents to follow these tips:
- Install activated lights and external surveillance cameras
- Call 911 immediately if a burglary happens
- Leave lights on
- Make noise so burglars know you are there
“A couple of things that we’ve seen too is garbage collection day,” Reed said. “If your trash bins are not back up at the house, that could be an indicator that somebody’s not home.”
Reed said residents should avoid leaving any clues that they are not home, such as having an un-shoveled driveway or full mailbox. He suggested having neighbors help with the driveway, trash bins, and mailbox.
“I’ve been here for 20 years. I think sometimes burglaries happen at random. Sometimes it’s opportunity, sometimes they look to see if a house is unoccupied,” Reed told Alpha News.
Pafoua Yang
Pafoua Yang is a reporter for Alpha News. She has worked as an on-air reporter for stations across the Twin Cities.
