Car Break-In/Theft: Villas East 12/12/2016

We had two events that seem to have occurred on the same day, but at different times.  A member reported that there was a car car break-in at a home located on Circle West.  The homeowner had just gone to the bank and came home for a second and stepped into their home, leaving valuables inside his locked car.  He was evidently followed and within the small amount of time he was inside his home, the thief broke his car window and took off with his valuables.  The events occurred during the day.  We ask owners to please never leave any valuables in their cars, especially if it is in plain view.  Also, if you are visiting the bank and are withdrawing large sums of cash or removing valuables from a safe deposit box, it is important that you stay aware of your surroundings at all times. If you feel that you are being followed, call 911 or go to the nearest Police station.  

The second incident occurred later at night between the hours of 7 - 9 PM on Circle East as reported by the tenant on Nextdoor.com.  Their holiday light decorations, specifically the Star Shower Laser Lights, were stolen from the front of the tenant's home.  Just like last year, these items seem to be stolen very frequently from homes due to their popularity.  We posted about similar thefts in and around our community earlier last week along with some tips on how to secure them.  

It goes without saying that if suspicious activity is occurring on or around the property, residents are urged to please contact Police immediately by calling their non emergency number at (305) 4-POLICE (476-5423).  If you believe that a crime is in progress, please call 911.  Do not attempt contact with any person engaging in suspicious activity and instead let Police handle the situation.  It is important that residents always file a Police report for any crime that has been committed against them, no matter how small or insignificant you think it might be.  If a report is not filed, Police have no way to determine crime trends in a community.  After filing a Police report, please let us know so we can alert the rest of or members.

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Villa of the Quarter: December 2016

The Board of Directors recognizes members who go above and beyond in the upkeep of their villa within our community. These members are examples of the potential each home has when it is well maintained and also helps keep property values high which benefits everyone in the community. Thanks to the many homeowners that take great care of their property our community has become a very desirable place to live. Homeowners that go above and beyond in the upkeep of their Villa are a big part of that.

The home chosen for the 4th Quarter of 2016 belongs to Lina Frometa who lives on 110th ST CIR S and moved into the community 3 years ago. She has added a great deal of landscaping since purchasing her home which really makes it stand out and according to her is always looking for things to enhance the look of her home. On December 4th, 2016 the Board President & Vice-President presented the Devon-Aire Villas #1: Villa of The Quarter award in recognition of outstanding landscaping and villa upkeep as well as a $50 Cheese Cake Factory gift card to Lina Frometa. The Board of Directors wishes to thank you for all the hard work you have put into your villa! We are proud to have you in the community.

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Holiday Light Display Benefiting Autism Awareness

On December 9th, the Christmas Castle display is back. For those of you which enjoy light displays or have small children that do, The Hannah's, one of our neighbors in Devon-Aire Estates, transform their home every year into a castle that puts on a spectacular light show they call the Christmas Castle and do so for Autism Awareness. This is a light display with more than 50,000 lights which are synchronized to holiday music and Disney inspired castle which is 38 ft high. They occasionally have characters at the display. They also put out a fireworks show (weather permitting) on some nights at the end of the show. Folks living on 123rd Place have undoubtedly heard the music playing daily and occasional fireworks. The lights run from Sunday - Thursday from 6PM - 10PM and Friday - Saturday 6PM - 11PM and will run through December 30th. The attraction will be closed on December 12 & 13 this year.  Please check their calendar by Clicking Here.  Donations benefiting autism awareness through the Dan Marino Autism Foundation can be made while there. The display is located at 12331 SW 109th Ter which is a short walk from Devon-Aire Villas #1 West through the 106th Street exit. It can get quite crowded so if you can walk there, please do as there is very little parking. You can visit their web site by going to: http://www.christmascastle.us. If you are unable to go there to see it for yourself, there are some videos posted by the Hannah's for you to enjoy on their website.  Click Here for videos.

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Holiday Decoration Theft: Villas East 12/1/2016

It seems we have Grinch visiting people's homes this holiday season. A member living on the 12000 block of SW 110 ST Circle South called us to report that someone came to their home on 12/1/2016 between the hours of 9 PM - 12 AM and stole their inflatable holiday yard decorations. We have also seen similar and recent reports of these types of holiday decoration thefts from residents living in the homes that surround our community. Another resident that lives close to our community also reported that on 11/27 someone came to their home and stole their star shower Christmas lights from the front of their home and actually captured the perpetrators on video. If you have a Nextdoor.com account, you can read more about it and see pictures of the perpetrators by Clicking Here.

We know these types of thefts are disheartening and guarding against them is extremely difficult, but there are a few things you can do to try and deter or make it more difficult for them to remove.

• Pound a metal stake into the ground directly behind your lawn decoration using a rubber mallet and attach the decoration to the stake using rope or chain in a way that is not easily removable and hidden from view. This will make it more difficult for a thief to quickly come and snatch the decoration from your yard.
• If you have motion activated security lights on the outside of your home, make sure your decorations are facing them. If a person walks into your front yard after dark the lights will turn on and hopefully scare them away.
• If you can afford too, make sure you are running the decorations all night to make it harder to steal but be sure they are well secured, including the electrical cord.
• If you can, make sure that the extension cord can't be easily disconnected from the decoration or the electrical outlet. Use can use zip ties to bind things together.
• If you have security cameras, make sure they are pointing to your decorations to catch the thieves in action. Also, some security camera systems have the ability to alert you about motion so if you have that feature available, set it up.

Lastly, stay alert for any suspicious activity around your homes and that of your neighbors. The basic rule of thumb is if you see a possible crime in progress, call 9-1-1 right away. If you wish to report suspicious activity, please call the non-emergency number at (305) 476-5423. Please pay particular attention to individuals loitering in the guest parking areas or other parts of the community and if observe anyone circling around the community that should not be there, walking in and around homes or just someone who seems out of place, please contact Police immediately. Miami Dade Police is authorized to ask anyone to leave the property that has no business in this community. After you contact Police, please let us know as well by using our Contact Us page or by calling us at (305) 859-1462 and leaving a message. Messages left at this number are monitored 7 days a week by all members of the board.

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