VENTURA : Thieves Strip Houses Under Construction

The same gang of thieves is believed responsible for two robberies in which houses under construction were stripped of appliances, doors and bathroom fittings worth $23,000, police said.

“It’s too much of a coincidence to be anything else,” said Detective Kevin Marple of the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department.

Although committed four days apart, both burglaries occurred at the same time of night and were carried out by people who were familiar with the construction trade, Marple said.

“I think it’s somebody who will know how to get rid of the stuff,” Marple said. “You just can’t bring a dozen interior doors into a pawnshop.”

In the first burglary, the thieves entered a construction site in the 3800 block of the Pacific Coast Highway on April 23 and took $12,000 worth of stoves, sinks, tubs and doors, Marple said.

Three days later, $11,000 worth of similar fixtures was taken from three houses under construction in the 6700 block of Breakers Way in Mussel Shoal, Marple said.