Open Garage Door Leads to Assaults in Metroplex

Open garage doors in BTW – What’s all the fuss?

The following is a summary of two related home invasions reported in the Dallas Morning News September 5, 2008. These home invasion assaults began with an open garage door. Your BTW-ViP offers this story as an example of how a simple oversight… leaving a garage door open… can lead to violent crime.

Open garage door in north Ft. Worth – easy entry and theft

At 11 pm on September 4, 2008 two ex-convicts, intent upon resuming their old occupation, saw an open garage door at a north Ft. Worth residence. They entered the home, confronted the homeowner and stole a Honda van, a laptop computer, the homeowner’s wallet, jewelry, and a police scanner radio. The homeowner was a member of a neighborhood crime watch group and stored the police scanner in his home. This homeowner was surely aware of the importance of closing garage doors immediately upon entering or exiting the house. The homeowner’s negligence enabled easy entry to his house resulting in property theft. The stolen van provided transportation to the criminals’ next crime.

Two hours later the same ex-convicts invade a Blue Mound home

Two hours later the ex-convicts drove the stolen van just two miles to Blue Mound and invaded the home of a family of four. This time the assailants were armed. One carried a shotgun. The other had a pistol. They gained entry by breaking glass at the front door. The first assailant shoved the shotgun in the face of the wife. She called to her husband warning that the intruders were armed. Her husband came from the bedroom and struggled with the first assailant.

In the ensuing confusion the wife was able to break free. She instructed her 12 year old boy to take his 5 year old sister and hide in a closet. This was the family’s rehearsed safety plan that enabled the children to get out of harms way. The wife called 911.

Meanwhile, the husband threw a candle at the first assailant and wrested the shotgun from him. As the struggle spilled out into the front yard, the husband shot and wounded the second intruder as he fled to the van. The first assailant returned to the fight. The husband shot twice, killing him. Police arrived and removed the second assailant to the hospital in critical condition.

Bottom line: Leaving a garage door open can lead to tragic results

It was miraculous that none of the residents at either house were injured. Every time your BTW-ViP finds an open garage door we call the homeowner because open doors provide easy entry points for criminals. If a garage door is open, there is a very high probability the entry door to the house is unlocked, making entry ever so easy. Please don’t invite violent criminals to prey upon us in BTW. Make it a personal habit to close garage doors and lock entry doors.

ViP Recommendation:

Close your garage door immediately after entering and exiting to eliminate an easy entry route for criminals. Keep all entry doors locked whether you are home or away.

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