Local Burglar Makes off with Everything, Including the Food

“When I came in, it was dark. I put the kids down,” says Kristi Tapia, recalling the fleeting last few moments she felt safe in her own home. “I looked around and I knew I left everything very clean; but there were papers everywhere,” she says in a suspicious tone.

Tapia and her children had just returned from family festivities over Thanksgiving and come home to a house in a neighborhood she thought she knew well. What she didn’t immediately realize was that someone out there had just gotten to know her really well, and that on more than a first name basis.

‘Mom,’ her son said, ‘I did not leave that car there.’ “It was a big, huge remote control car,” she explains. “I thought yeah, he probably did, he probably just doesn’t remember it. Then I looked up and the TV was gone.”

Scooping her children up and rushing them out of the door and back to the car, Tapia called the San Angelo Police Department, who sent officers on their way.

When they arrived on scene, officers entered the house guns drawn. “Police! Put your hands up!” they shouted, penetrating the house and searching the premises for anyone who might have lingered behind. But all they found was an empty house in disarray. 

Looking around a veritable wreckage of what had been only hours previous neat and tidy, Tapia saw closet doors ajar, knick-knacks strewn about, papers scattered. “Mattresses had been flipped, every door had been gone through—ransacked—everything was on the ground. It’s crazy,” she said.

Assessing the damage and loss became a task of immense effort, but what was immediately apparent was that Tapia had been the victim of a very odd crime.

“All of our clothes, shoes, the TV, all the kids’ gaming stuff, dishes,” Tapia begins a list of the items missing from the house,” all of our food, all of our cleaning supplies,” she said. “It was odd. Odd. Odd,” she repeated in disbelief, shaking her head a bit perplexed as she told the story.

Since she returned and found her house a wreck, Tapia’s life has been turned upside down. Not only were personal items stolen, but her checkbook was also missing, meaning her livelihood was in danger. The past couple of weeks have been a circus of cancelling cards and protecting accounts, changing door and window locks and longing for a feeling of safety.

“[I feel] very violated. There’s no, I mean, exact feeling that you feel when you go through something like that. You’re just so…I wasn’t angry, I was just scared, startled. I was very, very thankful that I was not there [when it happened], she said.

But with many of her personal possessions gone, Tapia says the worst part isn’t even thinking about what’s missing, it’s the security that went with those items when the burglar entered.

“[The worst part is] knowing that someone’s been through all of my stuff, all my belongings. Just feeling very violated and not feeling secure in my own home. And knowing my kids don’t feel secure,” Tapia said.

Since the break in, Tapia has been staying with friends who have helped her with the items she needs while her home is in limbo. The impact of the break in has affected the family deeply, and the uncertainty of who did it and where he is out there are concerns that haunt her at night.

“I have no idea [when I’ll feel safe again],” Tapia said. “If they catch somebody, that would give me some piece of mind. Right now, I’m looking at other homes because I don’t think I could ever lay my head down at night in there again. That’s already bothered me to where I can’t sleep at night now.”

But even during the day, things aren’t much easier. With every passing car and every stranger’s face, Tapia finds herself wondering if that’s the person who did this to her family. If he’s the one that dug through her stuff. 

“I don’t want to have to keep going through the stores thinking ‘were you in my house, were you in my house, were you in my house?’ Plus seeing people drive by and wondering why they’re driving by my house. Every thing I hear, I think that somebody’s…” her voice trails off. “I’m just hoping they find the person who did it. That would just give me a little piece of mind.”

As of publication, the exact time of the break in at Kristi Tapia’s residence was unknown. The family had returned from Thanksgiving weekend to find the chaos, leaving a couple of days for the burglary to have taken place. The suspect is still on the loose.

Word of burglaries is widespread during the holidays, when people are buying and stowing many more purchases in their cars and windows. While it was initially believed that the rates of theft and burglary/theft increase during the holiday season, the SAPD has released numbers that suggest the incidents actually stay much more fluid throughout the year.

“We’ve always thought there were actually more thefts during that time, but as it turns out what changes is what they’re stealing,” SAPD Officer Zach Upton says.

For example, in the summer, lawn mowers might be the hot item, but in the winter, it may be Christmas presents. While the total number of incidents may not necessarily see the drastic jump previously believed, the value may be greater due to the cargo people carry with them and store for Christmas presents.

In 2012, there were 431 homes broken into and stolen from, 66 of which occurred in November and December, or 15.3 percent. The total number of burglaries of vehicles that year was 752, and November and December accounted for 104 of those, or 13.8 percent.  Theft under $500—the most common theft classification during the holiday season—saw 939 cases, 135 of which took place in November and December, 14.3 percent.

While numbers point at a relatively static trend year-round, officers suggest that you still may be more at risk during the holidays as items are basically advertised in car seats and under Christmas trees in windows. The number one item stolen from cars is a woman’s handbag, and officers suggest keeping you car clear of this and other items as you do your shopping this year.

“Make sure your homes are lit up like a Christmas tree,” says Tapia. “During the holiday season, if you’re not going to be there, ask your neighbors to keep a close eye and have a look.”