Neighbor Walked In On Burglar In Rugby Road Home

Last week, we talked about the possible correlation between spring weather and criminal activity in the neighborhood. One commenter, who lives on Rugby Rd, told us about a scary experience she had Monday afternoon. We asked for more details about the incident, and this is what she told us:

On Monday afternoon at around 1:30, my daughter returned to our home after a 10 minute walk with our dog. When she entered the house she saw a man in the dining room. He was carrying my cameras and camera bags. She immediately started screaming at him and the dog started barking at him. The only way for him to exit the house was to pass by my daughter. As he tried to get around the dog and her, she started grabbing at the camera bags. I think he was so freaked out between her reaction and our black lab that he dropped the bags and ran out of the house.

Our dog pursued him down the block but, my daughter afraid for the dog called him back. She immediately called the police. The dispatcher made her stay on the line until the patrol officers arrived. The officers drove her around the neighborhood looking for the man. While she was in the patrol car a call came in about a shooting at the Cortelyou Rd station. The call had come from a pay phone on Cortelyou and Coney Island Ave. The officers immediately surmised that the call came from the burglar and raced over to that area. There was no shooting at the station.

My daughter was then taken to the 70th precinct. She spent an hour or so looking at photos. Unfortunately the burglar did manage to steal my brand new mac book pro. The detectives were disappointed (as I am now) that I had not registered the ICLOUD that comes with the mac. If I had registered they would have tried to locate it via Icloud. Now I know!!!!! The police came to our house and dusted for prints. There were none.

There have been a few follow up calls from the detective on the case. He has told me that they continue to monitor the pawn shops for the computer. All in all I feel good about how the police are handling the burglary. We all feel that this was a crime of opportunity. We think that the man saw my daughter leave the house with the dog. He tried our front door and found it unlocked which happens occasionally. There are 8 people living in the house…and well you know…we have been lulled into a sense of safety after living here for 15 years without incident. I am grateful that my daughter was not harmed. We have all thought about the could-haves and should-haves. We now lock the front door religiously.

The man was white or light skinned hispanic, middle-aged (45-55), with greying hair and a pot-marked face. He was a little taller than my daughter so was probably between 5’3″-5’5″. He was wearing a hoody and a yellow plaid shirt and dark pants. My daughter said that he was clean shaven and his clothes were clean.

Anyone with information about the incident can call the 70th Precinct at (718) 851-5511, or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477). You can also submit tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website, or text tips to 274637 (CRIMES), and then enter TIP577.