SAN DIEGO (KGTV) - As a Tierrasanta family was out of their home, two intruders were forcing their way into the house, and they may have used a disturbing tactic to keep the homeowners away.
Around 6 p.m. Friday night, Tommy and his wife arrived at Golden Island restaurant in Mira Mesa to attend a wedding rehearsal dinner.
Just before 8:30 p.m., Tommy, who asked us not reveal his full name, went to the parking lot to check on his vehicle, a brand new Toyota 4Runner, and saw something odd.
“I had a flat tire on my rear driver side,” said Tommy.
A few minutes later, his alarm company and Ring camera both alerted him about intruders at his house.
Video shows two people in hoodies outside his front door. One of them swats the camera down, before slams himself against the front door, busting through moments later.
Inside, after the alarm goes off, the burglars search the upstairs rooms, and zero in on a large safe in the office, which is moved to the top of the stairs, and tossed down.
About a minute after forcing their way in, the thieves were out, with a safe filled with credit cards, documents and several thousand dollars in cash.
Tommy believes the intruders knew they wouldn't be bothered by the homeowners.
A mechanic confirmed his tire was slashed, and Tommy says it's no coincidence.
“These guys were bold. They followed us. They slashed our tires. They've been watching us, and that's the scary part. We weren't even aware someone was watching us,” said Tommy.
Those thieves were apparently willing to go the extra miles to buy some extra time.
“We felt violated. We can’t believe it’s happening to us. We see it on the news and TV all the time, and never thought it would happen to us. Here we are living our worst nightmare,” said Tommy.
As the intruders left the home, they were confronted by a neighbor, who asked them is they had stolen the safe.
“Yes we did,” one said before the two took off.
The burglars both wore skis masks and were seen driving off in an older van, possibly beige.
ABC 10News reached out to investigators to see the tire slashing tactic is one they've seen before, and are waiting to hear back.
Anyone with information on the case can call Crime Stoppers at 888-580-8477.
