It took a burglar just 13 minutes to clear out the valuables from John Sinis’ home in Philadelphia's Fishtown last month, loading a gym bag and a pillowcase with electronics, jewelry, and the spare key to his car. “This is a quiet neighborhood,” Sinis said. “I never would’ve pictured this happening.” Twenty days later and around the corner, Allie Omdahl’s Ring doorbell camera captured the same man trying to smash one of her windows with a screwdriver until her neighbors walked by and scared him off. Investigators say Erik Gomez targeted these homes and others using the same MO: parking nearby and waiting until the targeted homes were unoccupied before breaking in, reports the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Gomez, 39, was on parole for a previous burglary conviction at the time police say he targeted at least four homes. Those alleged break-ins are part of a larger trend in which investigators say so-called crime tourists are driving to traditionally safe neighborhoods, hitting empty homes quickly, and fleeing from any signs of conflict or potential identification. Omdahl said the boldness of the attempted burglary at her home surprised her — it happened in broad daylight while the neighborhood was full of people out walking. “Just the feeling that someone is watching you and will so brazenly break into your home, without a mask, in the middle of the day, is so unsettling,” she said. “I lived in Fishtown for years, and I don’t ever remember feeling this way,” she added. “Even my neighbors who have been here their whole lives say this has never happened before.”
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