SAN ANTONIO -- San Antonio burglars have a new M.O. An undercover detective who spoke only with News 4 Trouble Shooter Delaine Mathieu revealed that thieves are looking for two very specific things.
"Homeowners need to be aware that the two items that are being stolen at a much higher rate right now are gold and firearms," the detective told Delaine.
He says burglars aren't going after flat-screen tv's or computers as much anymore.
"Burglars will enter a home and they'll go straight to the areas that jewelry is stored," he said. "They'll take all the jewelry and leave behind many, many other valuables."
The price for gold has been on the rise. Right now, it's worth more than $1,600 an ounce.
"As the price of gold increases, that means for each item of gold that you have, it's worth more in the scrap-value market," he said.
Because of that, the detective and his crew are seeing a spike in home burglaries where nothing but gold has been stolen. But he says they're targeting guns, too. Looming gun-control legislation, in the wake of the Newtown shootings this past December, has thieves stealing guns from homeowners and selling them on the black market. Law enforcement officials are concerned.
"If this becomes more common, where is it going -- where is the potential for it to go," Delaine asked the detective.
"Our concern is that these types of crimes are going to transition from a non-confrontational property crime to a confrontational, personal crime -- a robbery," he told her.
The detective suggests taking down stickers that would indicate you have firearms in your home or vehicle. Lock up your jewelry in a safe that is bolted down, and take pictures of all your valuables. The detective said that way, if it's pawned or found by police, you'll be able to prove it's yours.
