Myrtle Drive Auto Burglaries

On March 7, 2010 around 3:45 AM, not being able to sleep, I got up and went to our outside fridge in the back yard to get a cold drink when I thought I heard voices. I got our dogs up and sent them outside to do their neighborhood watch duty. They both started barking loudly (what a surprise!) at our front gate by the garage. I came back inside dragging both of them with me and locked up. Since I was wide awake by then I started watching the surveillance cameras and found three young men on Shadywood Court going from car to car trying to get in. I ran to the back gate while dialing 911 and started yelling at them, telling them they were being filmed and that the police were on the way. The police were here pretty quickly but as far as I know didn’t catch them. The police did call me while they were patrolling and told me if they did find anyone they would call me back.

I checked the backup tapes around 4:30 and found that the three had indeed been on Karas Court before going to Shadywood and spent 7 minutes going through any unlocked cars on our court. It seems they did get into at least one of the neighbors cars on Karas and one on Shadywood Court.

These three young men came down Myrtle, on foot, from the direction of Kirker Pass, entered Karas and then headed to Shadywood Court. I don’t know if anyone further up Myrtle had anything stolen from their cars but if so you need to call the Concord Police and make a report no matter what was taken.

On March 3rd a house on Ayers was broken into between 8:00 and 9:00 AM. The owner came by on the 4th to see if we had any footage of the white El Camino that was involved but the car did not come down Myrtle. The thieves took the families 5 foot gun safe which contained all their personal information, money and guns. It could have been someone who knew they weren’t home but they lost quite a bit. It looks like we have to start keeping our guard up again.

‘Tis the Season to be more Careful and Observant!

The last couple of months have been pretty quiet in our neighborhood but now the Holiday Season has arrived and so have the strangers on our doorsteps.

I received the following email from our neighbor across the street:

“hi susan......this is frank across the street........I have something to report that happened last night (Friday, Dec 11th).......around 6:30PM Lupe called me to say that there was a disorientated (or drunk) African American guy pounding on our front door....I was driving home from work, and was already only about a mile away. By the time I got there, he was gone...

She saw no car, and yes, should have called 911, but didn't.

Don't know if this is worth posting or not, but thought you should know anyway....”



Earlier in the week a woman approached our front patio gate and could not enter because we keep it locked. I opened the garage door to see what she wanted. She asked if I was “The Lady of the house” to which I replied “No, I’m the housekeeper (which is really not a lie)”. She then wanted to know when would be a good time to come back. I told her the owners did not open the door to strangers and that none of the neighbors on the court did either. I also informed her that she was being filmed. She left. I too should have called the police but didn’t.

We all know that the holidays are the time when more homes, cars and people are robbed. This is especially a good time to take extra precautions when arriving home, answering the door to strangers and being aware of our surroundings while out holiday shopping. Here are a couple of security steps that we should all try to remember:

Remember these important security steps:

• Install solid core doors, heavy duty locks, and window security devices
• Lock all doors, windows, and garages at all times
• Use four three-inch screws to secure heavy duty lock strike plates in the door frame
• Use the door peephole BEFORE opening the door
• Use your porch light to help you to see clearly outside
• Never rely on a chain-latch as a barrier to partially open the door
• Never open the door to strangers or solicitors
• Call the police if the stranger acts suspicious
• Alert your neighbors to suspicious solicitors
• Hold a family meeting to discuss home security plans
• Set the home perimeter alarm at night, if you have one

Have a safe and wonderful Holiday Season and look out for your neighbors!

Subpoenaed to Testify as Witness against Kelvin Simpson

This week I received a subpoena for the criminal action of the Mail Theft I've been posting about for the last few months. The subpoena stated:

YOU ARE COMMANDED TO APPEAR BEFORE THE JUDGE OF THE ABOVE DESIGNATED COURT ON THE DATE AND TIME INDICATED BELOW AS A WITNESS IN A CRIMINAL ACTION PROSECUTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA.

KELVIN SIMPSON CASE: 5090595-0 F DATE: 08/04/2009 TIME: 8:00 AM

Please report to the District Attorney’s Office 900 Ward Street, 3rd Floor, Martinez.

You have been subpoenaed as a witness. Your attendance at court is required by law so that both the accused and the prosecution have a fair and impartial trial. A subpoena is not a request; it is a court order telling you to be present at the time and place stated.

There were over 300 people who had their mail stolen and I'm wondering how many others have been subpoenaed. Anyone else out there?

Doing Drugs on Myrtle Drive

Yesterday afternoon around 3:30 PM I spotted this metallic brown SUV (Explorer I think) parked outside of my kitchen window. There were two Caucasian males inside, mid twenties perhaps, sitting in the shade of our trees. The passenger had reddish-brown hair and one of those little tufts of hair under his lower lip and I believe a mustache. I couldn’t get a clear description of the driver.

Parking along Myrtle wouldn’t normally be unusual when Ayers Elementary is in session but on the average day there are no cars parked along Myrtle outside of my kitchen. As I watched from the window the driver of the car shoved a straw or some other white cylinder-shaped object up his nose and proceeded to snort something from the center console between him and the passenger. When he was though with his snort, he dampened his fingers and licked the remaining drug (I’m pretty sure it wasn’t allergy medicine) until he got it all.

As fast as I was I couldn’t get outside to take a picture of the license plate but rest assured I’ll be on the lookout for this SUV again. We don’t need drug usage on our streets and this driver should never have been driving under the influence! This is a family neighborhood with lots of children, pets and people walking along Myrtle Drive.

Bail Set at $550,000 for Kelvin Simpson

Update on the arrest of Kelvin and Honey Simpson in the mail theft case. I received another email from Detective Leonard stating:

“I just wanted to let you know that your case was filed with the District Attorney late last week.

The female was charged with a felony count of possession of stolen property and now has a $20,000 warrant for her arrest

The male was also charged with a felony count of possession of stolen property and now has a $550,000 warrant. His bail amount is much higher because of past criminal history.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions, and thank you for being so thorough in helping us out.”


This email gave me great hopes that our problems were solved; however I have received a couple of other emails that indicate mail has been stolen since the arrests of Kelvin and Honey. Yesterday I received this email and it appears we are not out of the woods yet and that others may be involved in stealing mail.


“The other day another mail theft occurred on the area of Ayers and Myrtle. It was in the Sheriff Dept's jurisdiction, the area between Ayers and Bailey on Myrtle. I just wanted to let you know, there seem to still be people out there invading the mail boxes. Luckily this case the resident followed the bad guy, got a license plate number and the car was found, unoccupied. The Sheriff dept is investigating this latest caper. So just beware that even though 1 or 2 were arrested, sounds like there are more involved, don't let down your guard.”

As I get more information about the case against the Simpsons I will keep you posted.

Secret Service Turns Mail Theft Case over to Contra Costa County

Arrested in mid-January for the Mail Theft in our neighborhood were Kelvin Simpson 40 and Honey Simpson 37, both from East County. Originally the Secret Service was handling the investigation due to the possibility of Identity Theft. The investigation has now been turned over to Contra Costa County to be resolved. Detective Brian Leonard of Pleasant Hill Police Department has been working directly with Detective Phelan of the Concord Police Department to resolve this case.

Kelvin and Honey Simpson are responsible for stealing mail from approximately 300 people going back as far as seven months ago. Kelvin is still in custody for parole issues.

If any of you feel that you have had your identity jeopardized due to this mail theft please contact the Concord or Pleasant Hill Police Departments to advise them of your concerns.

Thanks to Detectives Leonard and Phelan for helping our community and taking the time to communicate their findings.

Mail Thieves Arrested in Pleasant Hill!

In January I posted the Myrtle Drive Mail Theft. Those of us who left our mail in unlocked mail boxes took a lot of heat at that time. Today I have some great news for you. The mail thieves have been caught and arrested in Pleasant Hill!

I received a call from Detective Brian Leonard of the Pleasant Hill Police Department yesterday telling me that a man and woman were arrested at a motel in Pleasant Hill. The clerk on duty at the motel noticed that the identification presented at registration didn’t correspond with the persons checking in and called the Pleasant Hill Police. When the police arrived and searched the couple’s room they found some of my mail and that of about 300 other people. Detective Leonard has been reviewing my surveillance videos with the Concord Police. I have a call into Detective Leonard to let him know that I have additional footage of the man in question coming back in December and attempting to steal the mail again. When he contacts me I will try and get the name of the man and woman involved and pass that information on to you. Right now all I know is that they are from “East County”. I will update you with more information once I talk to Detective Leonard again.

The old videos are on the sidebar if you want to see them again.

Caught Dirty-Handed!

Since posting last Tuesday about the Dumpster Diver on Myrtle Drive, I received the following email on Friday from Anne:

“This man was in the garbage at 4515 Melody Drive about 2:30 p.m. today. He was driving a white truck. When he was told to get out of the garbage he said "I've got two kids." It took telling him twice more to get out of the garbage before he left.”

It appears to be the same man! We know stealing recyclables is illegal and we also know that he’s roaming the neighborhoods at night. Tomorrow starts another day of garbage collection for many of us. So here’s the question; Turn him in or let him go? Let me know what you think! If you decide we should turn him in then I will personally take the pictures and license plate number to Concord Disposal and speak to a supervisor since I've had no response to my online report.

Ann has furnished his license plate number to me but it has been removed from the above picture until you let me know what your thoughts are.

Myrtle Drive Car Break-Ins Update

In the last few weeks we’ve had several car break-ins in our neighborhood. I’ve been communicating with neighbors on both Shadywood Court and Oakridge Court. The picture of the “suspect” vehicle involved in the Oakridge incident was sent to the Concord Police Department on Monday. Today we received an email from the CPD officer saying “Thanks for letting me know! I appreciate being in the loop and ALL the efforts that you have undertaken! The communication between the neighborhood and the police department is truly stellar and very much appreciated.”

Pam of Shadywood emailed Monday saying “I took the video footage of the suspicious car down to the Detective today. Thanks Susan for getting this for me. He said the suspects are in jail at this time for parole violations, but does not think we will get any of our stuff back. He appreciated having the video to look at, it may be another way to connect the suspects to the robberies that took place that night.”

By working together as neighbors and in conjunction with the Concord Police Department we are making some progress in making our neighborhood a safer place to be.

I am not including the CPD’s names for their own privacy.

More Mail Theft Reported!

As posted in January the above video shows mail theft along Myrtle Drive.

Once again our neighborhood is having problems with mail theft. I recently received this email from a Myrtle Drive resident who says “Just an FYI, I had a check stolen from my mailbox on Myrtle on March 10, in the afternoon. It was cashed on the 12th and the bank is investigating. Not looking for much to happen there, but wanted others to know that mail theft (again) is occurring on Myrtle. Thanks”

A friend of ours from Laurel informed me at dinner Sunday night that he too was missing a check from his mail box. He has since had it replaced.

This is just a “heads up” that this is still an ongoing problem in our neighborhood. Also, do not place any outgoing mail in your box but rather drop it off at the Post Office.

Please report all mail theft to the Concord Police and the Postal Inspector. Stealing mail is a federal offense!