Baltimore County police are trying to bust a cat burglar they believe has been hitting homes around Essex. The suspect has hit eight times, with four of his stops happening in the same neighborhood in the last few months. ABC2 News Joce Sterman has more on what he's doing and how he's getting easy access to his victims.
In the holiday season, there's one man who is welcome in stranger's homes overnight. But it's not Santa who's been visiting townhouses in the Essex area. Instead, police say it's a cat burglar who makes his way into the bedrooms of women or teenage girls, often just before dawn. Essex resident Vicky Latorre says, "It's very, very scary for me."
And the incidents have been even scarier for the women who've woken up to find the suspect standing in their bedroom. Police have released a sketch of the suspect, saying he’s a slim black man between 20-30 years old. They say he's gone into eight homes since February of 2008, with six of them on Punjab Drive.
So far, there have been no violent confrontations, but the suspect did touch one of the women. Baltimore County police spokesman Bill Toohey says, "These things have a way of escalating. The police down there would really like to get a hold of this guy and stop him."
Authorities want to stop the suspect from making those unwelcome visits. But Toohey says getting access to his victims has been easy. That’s because in every case, the suspect has been able to walk into the homes through slide glass doors that were wide open. Toohey explains, "He didn't have to break. He didn't have to smash. He didn't have to force anything. The door was unlocked when these women went to bed and he just pulled on the door and walked in."
And the suspect reportedly walked out the same way, disappearing into thin air. His visits have left the people who live here shaken and concerned for their safety. Resident Tanisha Owens tells ABC2, "I'm just going to make sure I lock up. It's the only thing I can do."
County Police are warning people to lock their doors, no matter where they live. Authorities are asking anyone who recognizes the man in the sketch to contact Baltimore County Police at 410-307-2020 or Metro Crimestoppers at 1-866-7-LOCKUP.
