MIDDLETOWN (KRON) — Looters are still on the prowl and preying on Middletown residents whose homes burned down.
And one man realized he was victimized as KRON4 was interviewing him Monday evening. His home burned down in the deadly Valley Fire, and then, he was hit twice by thieves.
“I had my bed right here,” Middletown resident Richard Woita said.
“We had a setting of a fireplace,” Woita said.
Now, Woita’s dealing with a bigger problem — looters. He said looters victimized him on two different occasions in the past 48 hours.
“They opened it up, went through my tools, and took what they wanted,” Woita said. “Someone tried to get what’s left in my safe.”
But that is certainly not all. As KRON4 was walking with Richard, he realized that his family’s long wheelchair accessible ramp was gone.
“Someone stole…someone just stole our railing…someone —— took it…,” Woita said. “It was a railing that went like this and it was still there…..it was my grandfather’s who left us the property before he passed away.”
Police have beefed up patrols in the area.
They have also made several looter arrests, but that does not appear to be stopping thieves.