A pellet gun, a 12-gauge shotgun and various pieces of jewelry were stolen from a Cape Coral home that was broken into, according to a police report.
Ted Swiontek, 57, of 2005 S.E. 26th St., left town with his family Thursday to go on a four-day cruise for his birthday. When they returned home at 11 a.m. Monday, the family found the front door wide open and called the police.
“To come home and find the front of your house wide open, and then to walk in and see the mess,” he said Wednesday. “After being gone for four days on the cruise, it sort of took the wind of our sails.”
According to the report, a pillow case containing a couple of foreign coins, two Brazilian bills, a $5 and $10 bill and a pair of binoculars was found on the floor by the front door. A southwest bedroom window had been smashed to gain entry. The master bedroom, closets and cabinets had been ransacked.
“Just like anybody would, you feel violated,” Swiontek said of the incident.
He called his neighborhood one of the “older established” neighborhoods in the Cape, and he added that his family has lived there for about 20 years.
“Very little of this happens through this area here,” Swiontek said.
The reports states that a Mossberg 12-gauge shotgun, a black Crossman pellet handgun, a men’s silver Seiko watch, a men’s silver Wittnauer watch, a women’s diamond watch, an amber necklace and earrings set, a men’s black coral ring and two antique cameos were stolen from the home.
The missing items have an estimated value of $5,750.
Swiontek is looking into installing a security system at the home, and the family will put up storm shutters and turn some lights on in the future, he said. Swiontek also has made his neighbors aware of the incident, and they intend to keep an eye on each others’ homes when they go out of town.
“It hasn’t only bothered one family, it affects the whole neighborhood,” he said. “We’re going to do things a lot different.”
Swiontek also wants to work with his neighbors to start a Neighborhood Watch group in their area. He said one resident who recently moved to the neighborhood had talked about starting up a Neighborhood Watch group.