Cedar Rapids sees rise in residential burglaries

CEDAR RAPIDS - Residential burglaries have skyrocketed this month compared to previous years.

Cedar Rapids police Sgt. Phil Hansen said officers have responded to 67 residential burglaries between Nov. 1 and Wednesday afternoon. During that same time period in 2014, there were only 39 residential burglaries.

And it's not just one neighborhood or quadrant that have been hit, Hansen said.

'It's spread out throughout the entire metro area,” he said. 'Some of them have moved into Marion and Hiawatha.”

Hansen said the tactics employed in many of the burglaries lead police to believe the burglaries are being perpetrated by two local groups. The groups that have been identified don't appear to have any connection with each other, Hansen said.

The suspects are operating predominantly in the daytime, Hansen said. Traveling in cars, burglars are parking in the streets or driveways and knocking on the front doors of houses to see if anyone is home. If the house is empty, they'll enter through a door or garage. Hansen said valuables such as jewelry, electronics and cash are being targeted. Police have also seen some instances of firearms being stolen.

Hansen said police have had some success thus far in making burglary arrests. On Tuesday, two men - 47-year-old Robert Blank and 39-year-old Michael Fienhold - were charged with burglary and drug charges after being discovered cooking meth in a shed at an abandoned property. However, Hansen said those men were not affiliated with either of the groups suspected of being responsible for most of the recent break-ins.

Hansen said investigators are still building cases against suspects in some of the other burglaries and the hope is charges will be filed in those. In the meantime, police are asking neighbors - particularly those at home during the day - to be vigilant.

'Look out for suspicious vehicles, suspicious people,” he said. 'Call us and let us know.”