True Crime

The Victim: Jeff and Jessica Harper
The Crime: Burglary
Date: Thursday, Dec. 20
Time: Between 11:30 a.m. and 6:45 p.m.
Location: 6800 block of E. Northwest Hwy.

Someone snatched the sandwich meat.

Six-foot wooden fence? No problem. Second-story window? No problem. The crime seemed a little unbelievable.

Jeff Harper and his family had been away from their Town North home when a burglar saw an opportunity — albeit not the easiest break-in. The thief leaped over the high security fence and then amazingly climbed a backyard trellis to access an upstairs window. Reaching the second floor, the burglar then broke the window and went inside.

Harper says the burglar stole a Nintendo Wii fitness board and some Pixar DVD movies. Beyond that, the loot gets a little more interesting. The finicky, and evidently hungry, thief stole all of the Harpers’ bread, sandwich meat and non-diet sodas (apparently the burglar was not watching his weight).

Harper and his wife recently moved to Dallas from North Carolina and find the crime creepy and unnerving. They were also amazed that this criminal bypassed so many more expensive items for trivial things like sandwich meat.

“They didn’t even try to take off the flatscreen TV,” Harper says.

Dallas Police Sgt. Keitric Jones of the Northeast Patrol Division says the criminal may have just thought that the food items were of value and took what he wanted or needed.

“There is no common thing when it comes to crime,” he says. “We should always secure all locks on windows and doors. Criminals have homes just like law-abiding citizens and often are aware of some of the same practices that they use. So please secure windows and doors and set alarms at all times, even if you are home.”