Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2002 | 10:45 a.m.
Dean Schaper was good at what he did. Unfortunately, Metro Police said what he was good at was stealing things that didn't belong to him.
What really set him apart was that he could do what most other accused criminals only bragged about -- actually pick a lock.
"He's a very prolific lock picker," said Lt. Jim Moses, head of Metro's career criminal section. "He really can do it. We watched him pick a lock (when Schaper was under surveillance) in a couple of minutes."
Tipped off to Schaper as a suspect in a string of thefts at a self-storage business on South Valley View Boulevard near Flamingo, Repeat Offender Program defenders say they watched Schaper pick a lock, empty the contents of the unit, relock the storage unit and speed off within 20 minutes. They arrested him later after he tried to steal tools from a Home Depot.
"Was he a violent criminal? No," Moses said. "But he's a criminal and if it's not nailed down, a guy like him would steal it. Other units could have been hit and we won't know about it until someone checks their unit and finds everything is gone."
But Schaper, a four-time convicted felon out of California, says the current thefts were the first ones he has done in a decade. It was just recently he was homeless and trying desperately to get a place for himself and his girlfriend.
So desperate that he says he went into the Home Depot trying to steal the tools, something he hadn't tried before.
"I've always had a job, but working in fast food just didn't make enough," he said during an interview in jail. "I got tired of being homeless. I thought I could hit a couple storage places and get enough money to get a place."
He was working at a Burger King on Tropicana Road, but said he wasn't getting enough hours to afford an apartment. A manager at the restaurant said Schaper was a good worker, but declined further comment, stating it's company policy not to talk about workers.
Schaper readily admitted his previous life of crime in California saying he was hooked on methamphetamine and was stealing to feed that habit. But he said since he got out of prison in 1991, he hasn't been stealing.
"I've been clean and sober and trying to survive. I've always had a job and didn't have to thieve for a while," he said.
Schaper said he has always had jobs, including helping his brother repossess cars in California. It was his brother who taught him how to pick locks. His brother would toss him a lock and he would just practice.
It was a skill that came in handy when he started stealing. But Schaper, soft-spoken, well-mannered during an interview, says he's sorry for taking other people's property.
"I know it sucks to lose your stuff. I've had people take my stuff when I was on the streets, so I know it sucks," he said. "I really am sorry."
He knows that no one will feel sorry for him and is ready to spend some time in prison for the crimes. He faces up to 10 years in prison on each of the four burglary charges he faces.
"I'm going to do my time and when I get out I will just try to make it again," he said.
When asked if he is going to steal again, he responds, "Absolutely not."
However, that's a common refrain police have heard from other previous convicted criminals when caught and charged with a new crime.
Schaper isn't the type of crook that makes headlines. But his type of crime elbows into more people's lives in Las Vegas than any other crime.
In 2000 there were more than 9,500 burglaries in Metro's jurisdiction -- more than murder, robbery and aggravated assault combined, according to statistics reported to the FBI for the Uniform Crime Report.
Most people never hear about burglaries since it is the violent crimes that garner most of the media attention, said Ted Miller, director of Public Service Research Institute, a non-profit public safety and health research center based in Calverton, Md., near Washington.
"When people talk about quality of life issues, it's always about the crimes of violence, but you are more than 300 times more likely to be burglarized than murdered," he said. "Even a gang member is far more likely to be the victim of a burglary than a murder."
And there will be more burglaries in Las Vegas. Schaper knows there are more guys who can pick locks out there so there is one bit of advice he has for people to protect their belongings -- use an American Lock.
"Those are so dang hard," he said. "They are near impossible to pick."
That is not the first time Greg German, vice president of marketing for the American Lock Company based in Crete, Ill., near Chicago, has heard burglars say how hard it is to pick his company's locks.
"That's a nice testimonial, but you typically don't use criminals for testimonials," German said. "Harry Houdini also would not use our locks. No body wants to be submerged in a chest underwater and all of sudden realize you can't pick the lock."
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