On Saturday, May 19, at 2:30 a.m., as we were sleeping in our bed, we were awakened by a small crash on the computer desk next to the bed. A much larger crash followed a few seconds later. After an exchange of "What was that?" we jumped out of bed and turned on a light. The window screen had been pried off and the window slid open.

A man had come into our bedroom while we were sleeping and burglarized our home.

We were not hurt, and I am very grateful for that. The only thing stolen was a video game system. Easily replaceable. As a precaution, we locked our windows and closed the shades Saturday night.

Sunday evening we stepped out for about 45 minutes to go the grocery store. We returned to discover the locked windows didn't stop the thief. In the short time we were gone, he pushed the window out of the frame, reached in and stole an MP3 player dock. He also attempted to steal a large computer monitor but was unable to succeed.

If you live in a first-floor apartment, please learn from this. Even a locked window may not keep thieves out.

Now that that is out of the way, I want to thank a couple people:

To my parents, thank you for helping Katie and I move all the expensive stuff out of the apartment after Sunday's break-in.

To Sgt. Sierra Brucia, thank you for your quick response Saturday morning. Thank you to Cpl. Dale Eubanks for his thorough investigation after the Sunday burglary.

And last, but far from least, we would like to thank Capt. Dan Williams of the Salvation Army. I have worked with Dan on stories many times over the years. He always calls me when a special event is happening or if he happens to see some spot news going down that I might be interested in. Since hardware stores closed hours earlier, I called Dan and asked for help. A few minutes later he was at our door with a large sheet of plywood to secure our now-open window.

Lodi is not a perfect town. We have thieves, gangs, addicts and all manners of people who are often out to victimize others. But Lodi's upstanding citizens and servants are far stronger and always come forward to help those who have been wronged.

Dan Evans

Chief Photographer

Lodi News-Sentinel