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IRVINE, Calif. () — Over the last year, more than half a dozen break-ins have Irvine residents on edge after a series of sophisticated burglaries in gated communities, with some homes being watched by hidden cameras.
Irvine police said the latest theft occurred on Saturday at the Turtle Rock community, but they have been going on in other areas all year.
Neighbors living at The Groves at Orchard Hills said the suspects pried their way into a house with a crowbar after climbing onto the second floor.
“Everyone is very shaken up. Even if you were not a victim of these crimes you feel victimized being in the community,” one resident anonymously said. “You feel very unsafe right now, and everybody is very on edge.”
Jewelry, handbags, money, firearms and even a safe were among the items taken during eight burglaries this year.
“We have thrown everything at this issue. This is not an Orchard Hills issue, it’s a California issue,” Irvine Police Sgt. Karie Davies said. “A lot of high-end communities are experiencing the same organized transnational groups that are coming in and they’re primarily targeting homes that are on hillsides and back up to green belts.”
Investigators said the homes hit were usually vacant, and in some cases, cameras were discovered in bushes being pointed at the houses. Many said their wifi was disabled in the neighborhood while the burglaries happened.
After going through a home robbery in a different neighborhood, one man brought his family to The Groves in search of a gated community.
“So, we moved into the community thinking that this was a guarded community,” the resident said anonymously. “We’ll be much safer and more secure, but that’s certainly not the case given the recent number of robberies.”
Several residents are asking for something to be done about pedestrian access to their streets, especially from their neighborhood’s developer the Irvine Company.
“You would think that there would be a regard for the residents that have already bought into their property,” another resident said. “That they would be interested in having a conversation and ensuring that these communities that they’re selling these multi-million homes in are safe and secure.”
A spokesperson with the Irvine Company told Eyewitness News during a phone conversation that it was not involved in the management of The Groves.
Eyewitness News contacted the property manager and HOA but has not heard back.
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