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Burglars trash homes in southeast Denver, police 'had never seen anything like this before'

Three break-ins were committed in one night
Posted at 9:17 PM, Feb 03, 2017
and last updated 2017-02-04 00:50:20-05

DENVER -- Burglars trashed three homes in Southeast Denver Monday night, and police are asking the community for help with surveillance video.

"We just went out to dinner," said George Kawamura, 80,  who came home with his wife Monday night to find every door in the house open. "She walked in and said, 'Oh my God. We've been broken into.'"

But it didn't take long for them to find out it was far worse than they first thought.

"Police really said they had never seen anything like this before," said Kawamura, sifting through the broken glass the burglars left behind.

They also kicked in walls, carved an obscenity into the kitchen table and smashed every electronic device, including TVs, an iPad and a laptop computer.

They stole a few pieces of jewelry, a small amount of cash and a couple of phone chargers.

"It's just wanton vandalism. I was thinking these people must be really angry people," said Kawamura.

And it didn't stop at his house.

In a community warning, police stated two other homes were broken into using the same modus operandi that same night, all within a mile of each other in the Hampden neighborhood.

"They kicked in the side garage door to get in," said another homeowner who did not wish to be identified. "They broke my laptops in two and destroyed all our TVs. Then, they found my keys in an office desk drawer and stole my car."

He said police later found his car near one of the homes that had been hit.

"You can understand people breaking in and taking things, but doing all this? It makes no sense," said Kawamura.

No one was home during the break-ins, but now the entire neighborhood is on edge, with residents warning each other about the crime spree on a neighborhood social media site.

Denver police also put out a warning, and asked for anyone with information or surveillance video to contact them.

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