Theft Suspects Caught On Camera; Victims Wait Hours For Police

A Colorado Springs family that thinks it caught two thieves on camera ended up waiting hours to tell police about it.

The Venitez family believe two men in their teens or 20s broke into their home on Wildcat Court on Wednesday morning just a few minutes after everyone left the home around 7:30 a.m. Susana Venitez arrived back home around 2:30 p.m.

“I panicked and right away I went into crying mode,” said Venitez.

Her first thought was to call police and did so for the first time at 2:42 p.m., but soon anger toward the thieves turned into frustration toward police.

“I’m questioning where all our taxes go. They go up all the time and they go, but when we need them, they’re never here,” said Venitez.

Police did not arrive until after 7 p.m. They explained that because it was not a life-threatening call, it was pushed to the back of the waiting list. That’s despite the home being located less than 2 miles away from the Sand Creek police substation.

A neighbor of the Venitez family said this is not an isolated incident. His home had seen six break-ins over the past year, prompting him to install the video cameras that caught two men walking down the dead-end street twice over the span of 30 minutes.

“It seems like we’re doing the investigation,” said the neighbor, who only wanted to be identified as Ryan.