Resident Finds Himself Face to Face with Would-Be Burglar

A strangely attired burglar got a surprise that sent him packing after he broke a window in a north Brookfield home and suddenly found himself looking the owner in the eye.

He bolted in his distinctive jungle-cat print jacket but police were unable to find him, probably thanks to a 10-minute head start.

According to Brookfield police reports:

At 10:22 a.m. Thursday, a resident of the 4100 block of North 143rd Street reported an attempted burglary at his home about 10 minutes earlier.

The caller told police he heard noises coming from the basement and went to check. The noises were coming from a window. He pulled open the curtains to find himself face to face with a young man who had just broken the window with a screwdriver.

The homeowner said the suspect “looked surprised” and “took off.” He described the perpetrator as a white male about 20 years old, 5 feet 10 inches tall, 175 to 180 pounds, with a mustache and wearing a black-on-white print jacket that looked like a “jaguar fur” pattern.

The suspect ran off across the man's yard and north toward the dead end of the street. The resident followed and last saw him running over the bridge beyond. The homeowner said he saw no vehicle in the area. He returned home and called police.

Officers traced the suspect’s muddy footprints through the snow to a trodden footpath and searched the area without finding the suspect.

Second burglary attempt also aborted

Also Thursday, at 5:38 p.m. an alarm company alerted Brookfield police to a possible burglary in the 18600 block of Kestrel Trail, and police arrived to find the back door glass shattered and footprints around the rear of the residence.

Officers determined that the west-side home had not been entered. The report did not say whether the residence was also armed with its own audible alarm, which could have put a quick end to the break-in.

Police searched the area but were unable to find any suspects, and none of the neighbors had seen or heard anything.