Intruder Enters Home and Tidies Up — Nothing Stolen
At first glance, it seemed to be everyone’s dream come true. After a trip away from home, a man residing at 1500 block of Clarendon Boulevard in Arlington, Virginia, returned to his apartment last week to discover it mysteriously cleaned. The apartment was spotless and it appeared nothing was stolen.
Unfortunately, investigators still don’t know who they should — ah, thank, for the good deed. Or, rather arrest for home invasion. As if the apartment was made spotless by fairies, there were no witnesses and police do not have a description of the suspect or suspects involved. The man returned home around midnight. Is it possible the entire maid visit occurred in the evening hours after everyone was in bed?
Police spokeswoman, Ashley Savage, offered only the following information, “Someone unlawfully entered the apartment….The victim came home to discover the residence cleaned.” She was not at liberty to discuss just what in the apartment had been tidied up, as the case is still under investigation.
The resident noticed that some of his belongings had been moved around, but nothing appeared to have been stolen. He reported he doesn’t have a maid and doesn’t believe it was a family member or friend doing a good deed.
Almost as strange, a few years ago, an intruder broke into a residence sometime during the day while the homeowner was at work and began cooking himself some bacon. The homeowner and her friend returned home to the distinct smell. They entered the kitchen and found the strange man frying the meat on the stove. The woman and her friend ran to the door and shouted repeatedly “Help, call 911!” as it was being slammed shut over and over. Eventually, another woman heard the commotion and dialed authorities.
Damon L. Petty, who attempted to break free from officers once they arrived, was subdued and arrested. The man was ultimately charged with first-degree burglary and sentenced to seven years in prison for his mysterious craving.
The charges the unknown intruder faces for entering the home last week without the homeowner’s knowledge are unknown. But, even if the person simply cleaned a few of the rooms and left, it’s still a crime that needs to be taken seriously. Coming home to find his things had been rifled through is enough to make the homeowner feel uneasy and hesitant to leave again.
And, appearances aren’t always what they seem.
Nowadays, when someone breaks into a home, even if it appears at first nothing was stolen, a homeowner still needs to be concerned about the stranger hijacking his or her digital fingerprint. It just takes a few minutes to log into a computer and lift sensitive information. Identity theft is a very serious crime. The consequences can take some time to rectify. Closer inspection could reveal the burglar was cleaning house in cyberspace as well.
In any case, if sprucing up the apartment proves to be as serious a crime as cooking bacon, the burglar is looking at some time behind bars.
Sources:
Resident comes home to find that a mystery intruder had cleaned apartment
Someone Broke Into a Virginia Home and Cleaned It
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