A group of good neighbours helped with the arrest of a man after he allegedly broke into a home through an unlocked door.
In the afternoon on May 10th, 2013, a man entered a home in the 200 block of East 20th Avenue near Main Street through an unlocked back door while the homeowner mowed his front lawn. When his wife arrived home, she surprised the stranger inside their house, yelling at him as he ran out the front door.
Others in the Block Watch neighbourhood saw that something was wrong and jumped into action. They followed the man as he ran into another nearby home and called police.
The homeowners of the second house were on their back porch and did not realize someone was inside their house. When the man emerged from the second home, the concerned neighbours continued to follow him until police arrived.
Ironically, the man was wearing a t-shirt when he was arrested that read “Safety is everyone’s concern.”
Robert Scott Murdoch, a 40 year old Vancouver resident, has been charged with two counts each of break and enter and possession of stolen property.
“Ensuring your doors and windows are locked is a simple deterrent,” says Block Watch Constable Dave Krenz. “Don’t make it easy for someone to break-in to your house.”
Find more tips on crime prevention here.
