Robinson Ranch Gets the Lowdown on Break-Ins

By Martin Henderson

Nearly 300 residents of Robinson Ranch showed up at the community center on Monday night and received an update from the chief of police services on what they could do to make their neighborhood safer.

The meeting, called at the request of Lt. Brian Schmutz of the Orange County Sheriff's Department, lasted about two hours. When the question and answer session started, he committed to staying until every last question was asked.

Although previously unpublished, it was revealed there had been five burglaries in the neighborhood over the past 90 days.

The two most notorious instances occurred earlier this month when deputies suspected a prowler inside a home that had guns inside and the Special Weapons and Tactics unit was called to the scene; there was no one inside.

The other took place Oct. 15 when a burglar apparently killed a small family dog by either kicking or stomping it. He allegedly took jewelry and other small items.

Schmutz had high praise for the audience that had gathered inside the Bell Tower Regional Community Center. "They were really engaged," he said.

Schmutz indicated he was a big fan of big dogs, alarm systems, and keeping the house locked because burglaries were taking place during the day while people were away.

Schmutz indicated he couldn't give away too much information into the ongoing investigation because he didn't know who was in the audience—deputies weren't ruling out someone from the community as the thief or thieves.

"You need to know there are a lot of resources on this and it doesn't cost RSM anything," Schmutz told them.

• Patch: Free local news
• Follow RSM Patch on Facebook and Twitter.
• Read other stories on RSM Patch.

The key points were about forming a Neighborhood Watch and to report suspicious activity.

"Know who's home and what's going on in your neighborhood," Schmutz said.

He told the audience that after responding to other calls, people came forward to say they saw something that didn't seem right, but they did not call to report it at the time it happened.

"Last year we responded to over 11,000 calls to service, and if we have to respond to a few hundred more, we have the resources," Schmutz said. "Don't hesitate to call us."

He also shared that calling 9-1-1 is to be used when there is an imminent threat to a person or property, but suspicious activity should be directed to the non-emergency number, 949-770-6011.