Thursday Feb. 12, 2009 - Thieves stole flat-screen TV's and other electronics from a home for the mentally disabled on Thursday. It was the second time in the last few months the facility had been targeted by burglars. The home, on the northwest side in the Tanglewood subdivision, is a place where the developmentally disabled can live an independent life.

But on Thursday afternoon thieves swept through this house, making off with four new flat-screen TV's and other electronics from three mentally disabled residents. Jamie Brundige is with the non-profit organizations called Community Options which owns the house. He says earlier in the day, before the robbery, one of the thieves came into the house while one of the residents was home.

"Apparently the guy got in here yesterday while he was waiting on his VIA Trans," says Brundige. "And said, 'Hey they sent me over here.' So I would guess he was assuming management sent him over here to look at the house. He shook my (resident's) hand, looked in all the rooms and left." The thieves later got in through the garage after cracking the code on the garage door opener.

This is the second time the house has been hit since last November. The burglars have taken a total of eight televisions, but they've also taken any sense of security the residents had. "Well, definitely now they're scared, terrified," adds Brundige. "Their parents are upset. They have guardians, so they're definitely scared." Brundige is now getting a security system for the house and he has called locksmiths to change the locks.

"We're trying to give them a place in the community. A nice home to where they can learn independence," says Brundige. "And for someone to come in and violate their area, their space is definitely a concern." Besides increased security, the folks who run the facility will now have a staff member here all the time. But that means the people who live here will have to lead a less independent life.

SOURCE: http://www.woai.com/home.aspx