Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, July 10, 1993 TAG: 9307100167
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: STEPHEN FOSTER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Short
Authorities have dubbed the thefts the "silver burglaries," because the thieves often have stolen silverware sets. The typical thief usually is not interested in silver, because it is not as valuable as it once was, Roanoke police Sgt. Don Walker said.
Authorities say about 50 burglaries - in Roanoke, Salem, Blacksburg, Lynchburg, South Hill and Bristol, among other locations - follow a similar pattern.
The burglaries are committed in daylight, usually in the homes of affluent, elderly people, Walker said.
The burglaries are neatly done, to the point that the victims sometimes don't know they've been robbed until days later. Often, they happen during Sunday church hours. Along with the silverware, the thieves have stolen jewelry and some money.
"They go in and pick the good jewelry," Walker said. "They're picky."
In Salem, more than $50,000 in jewelry was stolen from a home June 20. Around that time, two burglaries that netted a total of $10,000 to $11,000 were committed near Avenham Avenue in Southwest Roanoke, Walker said.
Also around that time, about $14,000 in silverware and jewelry was stolen from a home in Blacksburg.
The suspect, a woman from a group of gypsies investigators think may be from the Chicago area, was arrested in 1987 in Fairfax. Roanoke police have issued a warrant for her arrest, but asked that her name and how she was identified not be released.
by CNB