ANTIOCH (KRON) —  In this MyKRON4story, reporter Jeff Pierce speaks to victims, Mike Lopinto Jr. and his father Mike Lopinto Sr., on the subdivision of the far Eastern edge of Antioch where its new homes become a magnet for crime.

Mike and his father have been victimized four times in the last year.

They have installed a set of security cameras.

“We put this in after we were robbed our last time for over $2,000 worth of tools,” Mike Lapento Jr. said.

Tuesday night they had their truck stolen out of their driveway with all its new tools.

 “Our vehicle actually drove by. We saw he came here and made a circle and parked across the street here. He comes past our house here, and what he’s actually doing is scoping out the house. You’ll see he’ll come back, and he heads straight to the door. No hesitation. Super calm. He knows exactly what he’s doing, what he’s going for. And he gets right in there. Turns the lights off. He rolls it out to the middle of the street, not starting the car yet. Then, he gets over there. I’m guessing he’s alerting this guy that’s parked over here, and then he turns on the car and pulls off,” Lapinto Jr. said. 

The surveillance cameras only added more frustration to a neighborhood feeling victimized, and they have begun to come together to form a neighborhood watch as part of the solution.

“It started out with little things like mailbox thefts and it’s progressively getting worse,” Lopinto Sr. said.

“We’ve watched all of this grow with crime alongside of it”, neighborhood block captain Dwayne Thomas said.

They feel the incidence of crime in their neighborhood is not receiving the attention from law enforcement that it deserves.

“Since we’re getting no help from the police. we’re doing things on our own to try and make everybody more aware,” Lopinto Sr. said.

Antioch police say they seeking more officers as these neighborhoods expand and encourage vigilance of neighbors coming together. in the mean time the sparkling new neighborhoods still present a tempting target for criminals to prey on.

In the meantime, the sparkling new neighborhoods still present a tempting target for criminals to prey on.

“I believe right now they know there are no consequences, they’re never being chased or pursued here, so why not keep coming back here, ” Lopinto Sr. said.