EL CERRITO (KRON) — There have been several staged homes for sale burglarized in El Cerrito.

The most recent incident happened Thursday.

In some cases, thousands of dollars worth of furniture were taken. In other cases, burglars took expensive contracting tools.

On Friday, KRON4 spoke with one of the burglary victims about what happened.

A house on Terrace Drive was hit by burglars twice in the same week, first on Monday and burglarized again Thursday morning.

“Took our tools, came back, and took furniture,” burglary victim Mario Vasquez said.

Vasquez is a general contractor who has been working on the property over summer. He says losing his tools is a bit of a setback.

“It’s hard, I mean I don’t know what to say really because it is really hard that people are trying to make a living and there is people out there taking this kind of advantage,” Vasquez said.

There have been as many as four homes for sale burglarized in the last three weeks.

“But it is too early to tell if there is a tie-in or some type of trend,” El Cerrito police Lt. Steve Bonini said.

Lt. Bonini says one reason vacant properties on the real estate market are vulnerable to burglars is that neighbors whom would otherwise spot an unusual truck or van parked in a driveway may think it is has something to do with the house being bought or sold.

“With a home for sale, it is not unusual to see a van or a truck outside or something similar and people will just associate that with new people moving in the neighborhood,” Lt. Bonini said. “…(We) want to get the word out to our community that if there is a home for sale in your neighborhood and you know that the residents have gone on to another house, keep an eye out. If you see something, say something.”

If you know anything about who burglarized the house, Vasquez would appreciate the tip being dialed into El Cerrito police.

“I hope they do. I hope they do,” Vasquez said. “So they won’t go around doing more harmful things to somebody else.”WHAT OTHERS ARE CLICKING ON:

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