MESA, AZ — Mesa police are investigating a string of burglaries that have happened over the last two months in the northeast part of town.
"This car stopped right behind our house and three people got out and jumped up on our fence," said Maurio Fischbeck, a burglary victim.
Fischbeck and her husband say they were out of their house one evening in late January when their neighbor’s video surveillance captured thieves breaking into their home.
"They took out three bags of silver coins and they just dumped them on the floor, I think they wanted gold. And then they took my jewelry," said Fischbeck.
It took just seven minutes for the burglars to cut open Fischbeck’s safe and disappear. And she is not the only victim.
Mesa police say they are investigating around 10 incidents happening over the last two months.
"They're mostly making entrance through backyards, in our cases here in Mesa, either through throwing rocks through windows or busting out doors, things like that. And then looking, very quickly in and out, looking for smaller, high-end items," said Detective Richard Encinas of the Mesa Police Department.
Police around the Valley have linked dozens more burglaries to South American Theft Groups saying they are highly organized, quick, and hard to track.
While Mesa police have not connected their cases to these specific groups, they are not ruling it out.
On Wednesday, officers held a community meeting to keep neighbors informed, saying turning on alarms and watching out for your neighbors will be key on top of extra patrols.
For victims, it is property they may never get back.
"It's stuff that you get along without, but they're precious things to me," said Fischbeck.
