Family in Southern California left shaken by frightening burglary speaks out

A family in San Bernardino County left shaken by a terrifying home burglary, who previously wanted to remain anonymous, is speaking out about the harrowing break-in and a sense of safety that’s been destroyed.

The burglary at Mary Ledet’s home in a Rancho Cucamonga neighborhood off Foothill Boulevard and Archibald Avenue happened on the morning of June 18.

Footage of the incident shows two suspects, each of whom approach the home’s entrance alone and ring the doorbell, with the first man at 7:20 a.m. and the second at 7:23 a.m.

In both instances, the suspects stand there after ringing the doorbell to see if anyone would answer the door.

The burglars then moved to the side of the house where they lifted a gate off its hinges and entered the backyard. After cutting a hole in the homeowner’s rear metal security door, the two men are again captured on camera entering the home just before 8 a.m.

One of the suspects, armed with a can of spray paint, almost immediately spots the interior camera, which Ledet uses to watch her pets when she’s not home, and paints it completely black.

Fortunately, Ledet was out of town when the break-in happened, and family members were watching her dogs.

Nearly 15 minutes later after getting inside, the two suspects are seen in front of the home, each carrying a bag of the homeowner’s belongings, when a dark-colored four-door sedan pulls into the driveway.

Both suspects enter the passenger-side back door before the getaway driver reverses the car and leaves the area.

The thieves made off with her vintage Barbie Doll collection, a computer she uses as a volunteer doing taxes for the elderly through AARP and they cleaned out her jewelry box.

“What really outrages me and the rest of my family,” Ledet’s granddaughter Jessica Pollock said, “is just the fact that my grandmother is afraid to return to the home that she’s lived in since 1974.”

Pollock said she’s grateful her grandmother wasn’t at home at the time and hopes that someone will recognize the thieves.

The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department is investigating the burglary, but for Ledet, the days since the violating break-in have been nothing but stressful.

“One thing, I live alone. My husband passed away two years ago,” she said, unable to hold back tears. “I’m sorry. I’m totally alone now and I’m kind of afraid that they’re going to come back sometime, that’s all.”

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According to Pollock, her grandmother’s lost possessions are upsetting, but what’s worse is that the thieves have stolen her sense of security and she no longer feels safe in her own home.

“That is just the most priceless, precious thing on the planet, and you took that from somebody for some Barbies and a laptop?”

As for Ledet, she said before these two suspects burglarized her home, she’d never seen them before in her life.

Anyone with information about the burglary is asked to contact the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department.

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