Rob - banned
03-05-2005, 04:18 PM
KISSIMMEE, Fla. -- A Kissimmee man walked into his home and found a burglar trying to get away. Police say the teenaged suspect faces charges because of the homeowner's quick thinking.
The homeowner came back home mid-morning Friday to get a battery for a drill and, he says, he wouldn't have even gone inside except he noticed his dog was out in the yard. No one was supposed to be home, but when he went in he wasn't alone.
Max isn't much of a guard dog. Luckily his owner is a bit more protective.
"When I walked through the door, I smelled perfume and thought that was strange. And I walked to the kitchen and this window here was pried open," homeowner Gregg McClung explained.
Then something else caught his eye, a 17-year-old girl in his bedroom.
"When I run in there, we kind of collided and she went over and I said, 'What are you doing in my house?' I was in shock," McClung said.
He shut the door and pushed her in the bathroom. She sat on the toilet while he called 9-1-1.
"It takes a lot of nerve to go in somebody's house and it's sad somebody so young is messed up enough to do that," McClung said.
The thief snagged a DVD player, CD player, a PlayStation, other electronics and even grabbed McClung's daughter Emily's school fundraising candy and cash. The worst part is, the family had seen the teen before. She'd knocked on the door days earlier asking for a fictitious person, casing the neighborhood.
"It's a known tactic for burglars to do that, to canvass areas before they head in," explained Greg Alayon, Kissimmee Police Department.
Now detectives will try to link her to other burglaries in the neighborhood.
"You know, what we work hard for what we got and she was just walking away with it," said McClung.
The teen suspect even made long distance phone calls from inside the house. McClung's happy he took a thief that brazen off the streets.
"We all need to pay attention a little more to security and maybe get the dog trained a little better," McClung said, laughing.
Police say McClung did the right thing by calling 9-1-1 immediately. He's glad he got home when he did and that no one got hurt when he confronted the teen.
The teen suspect is now charged with felony burglary.
The homeowner came back home mid-morning Friday to get a battery for a drill and, he says, he wouldn't have even gone inside except he noticed his dog was out in the yard. No one was supposed to be home, but when he went in he wasn't alone.
Max isn't much of a guard dog. Luckily his owner is a bit more protective.
"When I walked through the door, I smelled perfume and thought that was strange. And I walked to the kitchen and this window here was pried open," homeowner Gregg McClung explained.
Then something else caught his eye, a 17-year-old girl in his bedroom.
"When I run in there, we kind of collided and she went over and I said, 'What are you doing in my house?' I was in shock," McClung said.
He shut the door and pushed her in the bathroom. She sat on the toilet while he called 9-1-1.
"It takes a lot of nerve to go in somebody's house and it's sad somebody so young is messed up enough to do that," McClung said.
The thief snagged a DVD player, CD player, a PlayStation, other electronics and even grabbed McClung's daughter Emily's school fundraising candy and cash. The worst part is, the family had seen the teen before. She'd knocked on the door days earlier asking for a fictitious person, casing the neighborhood.
"It's a known tactic for burglars to do that, to canvass areas before they head in," explained Greg Alayon, Kissimmee Police Department.
Now detectives will try to link her to other burglaries in the neighborhood.
"You know, what we work hard for what we got and she was just walking away with it," said McClung.
The teen suspect even made long distance phone calls from inside the house. McClung's happy he took a thief that brazen off the streets.
"We all need to pay attention a little more to security and maybe get the dog trained a little better," McClung said, laughing.
Police say McClung did the right thing by calling 9-1-1 immediately. He's glad he got home when he did and that no one got hurt when he confronted the teen.
The teen suspect is now charged with felony burglary.