SAN ANTONIO – Mark Dankof is worried about the physical safety of his 99-year old mother after her apartment at The Inn at Los Patios was broken into on Sept. 12 while she was away at dinner.
“Certainly in my mother’s case, her next-door neighbor’s case, the lady who was burgled twice -- those three for sure always lock their doors and are very, very careful about things,” Dankof said. “There have been at least six break-ins here that I know about, including the one that has happened to my mother once.”
Dankof said the burglaries started about two weeks ago when the crooks took his mother’s jewelry and an iPhone.
“Some sort of a blunt instrument was used to move a relatively cheap lock in a relatively cheap wooden door away from an aging wooden frame,” he said.
Retirement Center Management, which handles the property, said it is taking quick action to ensure its residents are safe both in independent and assisted living buildings. In a statement, the company said it is working with the police:
“Los Patios confirms that certain senior residents recently reported break ins of their residential units, while unoccupied. No injuries occurred, but cash and jewelry were reported missing. The police were called in each case and the incidents are subject to an ongoing police investigation. Further details have been provided to the police investigators.”
The company’s chief operating officer said they are installing cameras in the hallways, adding security to walk the premises, and fixing a broken gate. They are conducting their own investigation into the staff as well.
San Antonio police detectives with Property Crimes Unit are investigating the cases.
Dankof said in the two years his mother has lived at the property, there have never been any crime issues, and they have a good relationship with staff. But he said these incidents have him worried about the safety of those vulnerable residents. He’s demanding that the management company do more.
“I’ve told them that they need to get rid of these antiquated wooden doors with cheap locks and aging frames,” Dankof said. “We’re pretty much insisting at this point that she get a steel door that has a solid core steel frame and a state-of-the-art lock.”
He’d said he’d like to see that for all those who live there.