- Ex-cat burglar, Jen Gomez, shared the checklist she’s use before robbing houses
- She listed a security system, pets and bad weather for the best days to break in
- Gomez spent 10 years in a Florida state prison for her crimes
Jen Gomez knows exactly how a cat-burglar thinks when they’re canvassing a neighborhood — because she used to be one.
After being sentenced to 10 years in a Florida state prison, the ex-thief shared the ‘checklist’ she used to run through before she would rob a home — and some of the deterrents people used actually made their home a target.
Listing bad weather, security systems and animals as green lights to rob a home, the ex-burglar had some surprising insights into how thieves scoped out potential targets.
‘The first thing I would do is check the weather,’ she shared in a TikTok, which has been viewed almost two million times.
‘So if it’s bright, beautiful, sunny, I really tried to find places that are more isolated, more desolate, where the houses are further apart,’ Gomez explained in the nearly 10-minute long video.
The ex-thief explained if the weather was nice, people were more likely to be outside gardening, walking their dogs, pushing their babies in strollers or playing with their kids in the yard.
‘But if it’s raining, drizzling, just sprinkling even a little bit [it’s] the best of the best,’ she declared.
‘Because and that type of weather condition, people are not only not outside, but they also aren’t going to chase you, they’re not going to come outside just to be nosy because they think something looks weird and get all wet.
‘It’s disgusting outside, they’re staying in their house [because] it’s gross, there’s nothing to look at.
‘The nastier it was, the better off I was.’
Crime also has an early start, with Gomez saying she would usually commence her stealing sprees at 5:30am.
‘Most people go to work between 7 and 4, kids usually start getting out of school around 3, people come home for lunch, sometimes around 12 [but] majority of people (unless you’re a stay-at-home mom) they will be gone out of the house by eight o’clock, they may come back by 11:30,’ she said.
‘So between 8 and 11 is prime time, take a little break from about 11:30, maybe even 12 to about 1, 1:30,’ she shared.
The reformed thief said she also looked out for security systems, pointing out ‘people that have alarms will likely have something that they want to protect.’
Gomez said at the time she was robbing houses, which was circa 2006, there were many false alarms related to home security systems and because there were so many it was unlikely the police would show up.
If police were called, Gomez knew she had 10 to 15 minutes total to complete her robbery.
‘And that for me was all I needed,’ she said confidently.
Access points to the home are also vital to a successful robbery, with Gomez noting that a low window is important for accessibility. She could use her glass-cutting tools to get in.
The next on her checklist was scoping out homes with animals — but not because she wanted to steal a pet.
‘Most people that have money and nice homes and nice things in their homes do not keep their animals locked up,’ Gomez explained.
‘Now the reason that it was important to have an animal walking around is because then I knew that the motion sensors for the alarm system were likely off.’
Next, Gomez said she would always wear the wrong-sized shoes, and would make sure she wore her hair tied back and looked professional — often wearing scrubs.
She’d also try and choose houses where she had places to hide or conceal herself.
‘I want to make sure there’s a way I can get in and out easily,’ she explained.
‘And I don’t want to be trapped in the neighborhood.’
Gomez said she would mainly break into the ‘real, real upper class,’ adding she would have ways she would justify it to herself.
‘[I would tell myself] they weren’t really in need of it, they had a lot of money, they had homeowner’s insurance,’ Gomez recalled.
In an earlier TikTok, Gomez, who gave birth to her son while in prison, clarified she didn’t spend a decade in jail due to burglary alone, but was also mixed up in her then-boyfriend’s criminal activity —and after he fled the country was slapped with extra charges.
‘My charges are burglary, grand larceny, dealing in stolen property, trafficking stolen property across state lines,’ she concluded.
‘It wasn’t anything creepy with kids or hurting anyone or animals or anything.’
There was a mixed response to her video, with some followers pointing out people could use it as a guide for how to rob a house.
‘This video is promoting people to rob houses. This type of content shouldn’t be allowed on TikTok. Terrible,’ one user raged.
‘Step by step guide for the beginner,’ one follower commented, although Gomez disagreed with this statement.
‘None of this would ever work present day, video doorbell cameras like ring, and remote jobs ended it!!’ she responded.
‘Wow. This is an actual skill lol I never thought it would take so much brainpower,’ another said.
‘Most people think the opposite, oh I have a security system, dog, a fence etc. like they think they’re good,’ someone else observed.
