Tape system catches thieves on film who believed they took the camera

By Peggy Kelly Santa Paula TimesWhen a Santa Paula resident realized that filing insurance claims on thefts cost him more in the long run, he decided to take matters in his own hands. And now Mike Odle has videotape of two thieves that thought they were pulling a fast one by stealing a surveillance camera, but they didn’t realize that Odle had others running outside his home, located on a private road.Over the past several years, Odle has had thefts from his property, motorhome and vehicle that total about $13,500. About a year ago, Odle installed a $12,000 security system after a theft insurance claim “had cost me over a four-year period more (in higher premium payments) than the $8,000” loss. “So, I decided I wouldn’t turn them in any more, they’re not worth it.” Odle also installed a mega-motion detector system that “lights up the whole front yard like daylight.”The motion detector system didn’t deter two men who entered Odle’s yard Saturday morning at 5:15 a.m. The men came up to the Odle home, looked in the windows, and then concentrated on the truck.One spied the camera and they disappeared, but a few minutes later returned with “their shirts over their heads but their faces still exposed,” said Odle. “One jumped onto the bed of my truck” and attempted to pry open the small rear window, while the other man “grabbed the camera” and skulked away.“You feel violated,” Odle said, the common feeling among burglary victims. “First of all, we live on a private drive and on private property and they act like they own it.”Both suspects - one had a goatee - were wearing gloves, which showed they “knowingly were doing what they were doing. They ripped the camera off the house and walked away as if nothing happened. They couldn’t get into the truck... they were looking for an easy hit I guess.”