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Occasionally, a pair or group of burglars will strike in similar locations over time, and the crime spree never gets solved. The following story, as reported in The Times, concerns a frenzied series of at least six burglaries that took place over a single weekend in northern San Mateo County in March 1965. It is not clear if the same individuals committed the crimes.
The biggest heist occurred at a house on Park Lane in San Mateo. Approximately $50,000 of jewelry was stolen during a narrow window of time while the owners were out at a dinner party. Upon returning to their house at 12:30 a.m. on Sunday morning, they noticed muddy footprints leading from a (possibly unlocked) sliding glass door to the master bedroom via a hallway and the kitchen. The jewelry was kept loose in a dresser drawer. Included in the haul were diamond necklaces, watches, rings and assorted other precious items. Not locking that door and leaving the jewelry just lying there in a dresser drawer no doubt contributed to the ease of the theft.
On Sheffield Drive in Daly City, thieves broke into a house via a doggie door. They stole jewelry, money, a pistol and expensive furs totaling approximately $19,000. The owner, a former owner of a Daly City used car lot, returned to his house on Sunday after spending the weekend away. Perhaps not coincidentally, the burglars left behind a trail of muddy footprints.
At the Globe Tavern on Mission Street, also in Daly City, thieves managed to wrestle out a 250-pound safe containing about $4,000 from the establishment in less than an hour— between the time when a janitor finished his work at 4:15 a.m. and the arrival of the first staff at 5:30 a.m. This would seem to indicate that the burglars were familiar with the employees' work schedules. The back door where the thieves entered was locked, so they broke it down.
On the same weekend, three further minor burglaries took place in San Mateo. On North San Mateo Drive, an apartment was broken into. A stereo, wallet and half-full liquor bottle were stolen. Possibly related, a stereo and tape recorder were taken from another apartment on Bermuda Drive. And finally, the York Restaurant on East Fifth Avenue had approximately $500 taken from a cash register tray hidden in the banquet room of the eatery.
Further research in The Times didn't state if the burglaries were related or if the perpetrators were ever caught.
