Burglar Terrorizes Two Neighborhoods

A cat burglar may have broken into as many as six homes in two Lawrenceville subdivisions. Five of them happened in the early hours Monday.

The burglar is terrorizing residents by breaking into the homes while the residents are asleep. One of the victims was burglarized right in front of his nose, while he slept. Bobby Burnett said he fell asleep on the sofa in his sister?s house watching television. He said the lights were on in the living room when the burglar walked in the back door, right in front of him.

?When he came in he clearly had to see me sitting here,? Burnett said.

Burnett doesn't know how long the burglar was in the home, but he woke up and saw the man going through the cupboards in the kitchen.

?When I first seen him he really didn't startle me,? Burnett said. ?I was just thinking it was someone in the house, someone who belonged here.?

He said he was groggy with sleep but eventually realized what was going on.

?When I jumped up I said ?what the hell,? and he just took off without saying nothing,? he said.

He said the burglar ran out the back door and closed the door behind him.

Daniel Tutu and Claudia Angel live across the street from Burnett. They didn't know the burglar was in their house until the next morning. Tutu said he got up around 6 a.m. to walk his dog.

?And I noticed it was really cold in the downstairs area, then I walked through and saw the cabinets were wide open,? he said.

It was cold because the burglar cut a hole through a screen on the back window to get into their home. He was in and out while they slept.

Three homes in their Oakland Downs subdivision were broken into Monday morning. Two homes in neighboring subdivision Brooks Chase were burglarized. In every case, the victims were home. It has left residents of the two subdivisions terrified. Many were installing security systems in their homes on Tuesday. Tutu said he couldn?t sleep Monday night.

?Pretty much I was awake every two hours, finding out if everything was okay,? he said.

In some cases, the burglar took money from purses. In one he left with jewelry. The victim?s said there were more valuable items he could have taken. It is almost as if he is getting more of a thrill from breaking into the homes while they are occupied. Criminologists say that is the mark of a cat burglar.