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Deputies investigate string of burglaries

RIVERVIEW - The young men knock on doors near U.S. 301 and ask for John, deputies say.

By JESSICA VANDER VELDE, Times Staff Writer
Published January 25, 2008

If a man knocks on your door and asks for John, it might not be an innocent mistake.

Sheriff's deputies are investigating a string of break-ins in the U.S. 301 corridor they think are related.

Deputies have gotten reports of two or three young men driving through neighborhoods, knocking on doors and asking for someone named "John" or another phony name, Hillsborough County sheriff's Deputy Cliff Fletcher said.

When a residents tells the visitor there's no one there with that name, the men leave, drive to another house and repeat the question until they reach an empty home, Fletcher said.

There have been about six break-ins in the past couple of weeks in Riverview near U.S. 301 between Boyette and Big Bend roads, Fletcher said.

The men haven't broken into houses when the residents are home, he added.

The break-ins are similar to several that occurred last fall, Fletcher said. In those instances, several young men would kick in the doors of empty houses and quickly take electronics.

Those men were caught and aren't part of the latest group of burglars, Fletcher said.

Anyone who sees suspicious activity in a neighborhood should call the Sheriff's Office at 247-8200.

Jessica Vander Velde can be reached at jvandervelde@sptimes.com or 813 661-2443.

[Last modified January 24, 2008, 23:03:51]