Arrest made in intruder case
By Jeff Gallatin
Bay Village
Published Sept. 30, 2009

City police have arrested an 18-year-old area man in connection with the Sept. 15 break-in at a Nantucket Way home in which an 11-year-old girl living at the home saw an intruder in her home during the day.

Police said the incident doesn’t appear to be the work of a group of people breaking into different homes throughout the area.

“This isn’t a crew of people coming over from another city or anything like that,” Detective Lieutenant Mark Spaetzel said Tuesday. “This doesn’t appear to be part of other break-ins.”

Spaetzel said investigating officers developed leads on the case after checking evidence and talking to people who saw things relating to the case. This led officers to the man, who was arrested without incident, police said. He said there have been no other similar incidents in the area.

“Right now, this appears to be isolated,” Spaetzel said.

In the case, the young girl was home sick when the incident took place. She was on the phone with a parent when she heard something. The girl went to another part of the house, where she and the intruder caught sight of each other, police said. The man fled the house after that, apparently fleeing the area, possibly in an SUV, police said. The girl was not injured during the incident. Nothing was reported to be taken by the culprit, police said. Officers said he apparently entered through an unlocked back door.

“There was no actual physical contact with the man taking off after they saw each other,” Spaetzel said. “She probably scared him when he saw her.”

Officers responding to the call canvassed the area but were not able to find the man.

Spaetzel said the investigation is still ongoing.

“We’re continuing to investigate possible leads and other possible aspects of the case,” Spaetzel said.

Previous West Life articles:

• Girl startled by home intruder (Sept. 23, 2009)