The homeowners were away for the weekend.At 12:30 p.m. last Sunday — in broad daylight, and in view of the road — a security camera caught a man walking up to their Old Hill neighborhood house.
For half an hour, he casually cased out the place. He walked around the property and climbed on the roof, checking for unlocked windows. He banged on the side of the house, making sure no one was home.
Footage from a Nest camera shows the burglar — casually carrying a Gatorade bottle — casing out an Old Hill neighborhood home.
He finally found a vulnerable basement window, underneath the deck. He removed the glass — avoiding setting off the alarm — and entered the home. Then he used the owner’s own tools to cut the alarm wire.
That set off the alarm, and the burglar ran away.
The intruder removed the glass window, then used the owner’s own tools to cut the security alarm line.
“This guy was brazen, unconcerned about being seen or caught, experienced,” the homeowner says. “He knew where the main line of the security system was, and went right to it.”
Police found a Gatorade bottle he had left behind, and got a DNA sample. He did not wear gloves, so they obtained fingerprints and boot prints from the basement too. However, odds are against him getting caught.
The homeowner shows the cut security alarm line.
This is not the first time this has happened in Old Hill. A neighbor’s home was broken into in mid-March.
Residents have noticed men walking around the area recently. They did not give it a second thought; they figured they were handymen, landscapers or other workers. They’ll be more vigilant now, watching their own property and others’.
Since they learned of the break-in, neighbors have posted Nest photos of men casing other houses.
Another intruder, at another Old Hill area home.
The owners are adding extra features to their system, and more cameras. They’re filling in the basement window, and alarming all their glass.
“He would have set off the motion detector if he tried to get upstairs,” the owner says. “But it’s still really creepy.”
Besides heightened awareness by all, there’s only one good thing to come of this incident: At least one intruder was masked.
Ate they being so bold because they’re masked?
My car was stolen out of my driveway last Friday at 3am. My driveway is 300 ft long and car was not in eye shot !! Very bold to have taken the chance as it’s not an easy quick exit. I live off Sturges Highway so they are in all the areas of Westport 🤦🏻♀️
What better disguise these days for criminals! With everybody wearing masks, how can you see who they are…This world is sure turning into a scary place these days…riots, police officers being killed, Covid 19, statues being destroyed…it’s like folks are just getting crazy. Staying home seems like a better idea for us…
And innocent civilians being killed, as well. I hope no one decides to assume the worst about someone just walking down the road. I’m sure the Westport PD will be helpful and vigilant, as they always were in my past experience! Also the Fire Department. Helpful and professional. Sorry to hear this Is happening to so many…..best wishes.
This sort of thing seems to be on the rise in Westport. There was a similar-sounding break-in in my neighborhood a couple of weeks ago. The police were all over it the following day, but to my knowledge, nobody has been apprehended.