Burglars targeted a home that belongs to a man who spent decades protecting and serving the city of Riverside.
John Carpenter, a retired police captain, was out of town on Aug. 6 when he watched it happen live on his Ring camera.
"I was sick to my stomach," he said.
A group of burglars took his safe from his Murrieta home.
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"I was thinking about all the family memorabilia we had in that safe. We had our children's baby books, family pictures. We had that in there."
It also had about $20,000 in cash, passports, ID's and family heirlooms such as his wife's extensive jewelry collection, including his wife, Beth's, parents' wedding rings.
"We just lost a piece of our life," he said.
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Several weapons were also stolen including an AR-15 and priceless memorabilia from his 31-year career at the Riverside Police Department where he was a captain.
He also lost all the Riverside Police Department ID badges that he accumulated through his career that he was saving to pass onto his son."
He says the thieves pried open the back slider. They ransacked his home and then took his safe which was bolted to the concrete floor. Then they loaded it into a minivan or SUV.
The veteran detective believes the men are part of a burglary crew that has targeted other homes.
"They put blankets over motion detector lights," he said.
He's hoping someone will recognize them.
"Obviously the heavy accent, the language. One suspect mask was kind of pulled down look at the backpacks," he said.
"We want our stuff back.”
He is offering a $5,000 reward for the arrests and convictions of the burglars. If you have any information about them call Murrieta police.
