WYOMING, Mich. -- A suspected thief was caught in the act inside a Wyoming home. The alarming video was recorded on a make-shift surveillance camera the homeowner set up.
The couple living in the home originally set up a surveillance camera to help out a neighbor who wanted to know how packages that were getting delivered were getting damaged. After their home was broken into less than two months ago, they decided to set up the camera facing their front door.
The video surveillance shows the man Roger Walthorn says broke into his home early Sunday morning at the Creekside Estates.
"It was like 5:15 a.m. and we heard our dog back," said Walthorn. "My partner, Kyle, heard the tone in his bark so he got up and came through the hallway and the guy was already leaving. He just saw his back."
Little did the suspected thief know, almost all of his uninvited visit would be caught on hidden camera.
"He was like two steps in and it started recording," Walthorn explained.
The motion-activated camera starts recording once the man's inside, giving them a pretty clear image of him. The man walks over to a chair, picks up a bag off the floor, all while their dog barks from his cage. He then stops, looks back at the coffee table, then heads to the door. Kyle was woken up by the dog and only saw the man's back before yelling at him.
"He literally came in, went straight to my bag and then straight out," said Walthorn. "It's like he knew exactly what he was looking for."
Last time Walthorn was robbed, the thief got away with a wallet and some cigarettes. This time, he took two pairs of headphones, a car key and some gum.
"I don't wish anything bad on him, but I do want him to get punished for what he did," said Walthorn. "The bag is replaceable, the car keys are replaceable, but coming into the only place where I should feel safe is really violating. I know that's kind of a cliche, but it's scary."
Walthorn uses the application 'ManyThing,' set up on a television stand in the living room using an old iPhone. It costs him around $4 per month; a small price to pay for what it's done.
"Do I feel safe? Yes, but do I worry about our possessions? Yes," said Walthorn. "I know it's a trailer, but it's our home for now. It's just a scary thing to deal with."
Walthorn says he plans on setting up another camera in the front of their house as well as getting a dead bolt lock and sealing up their windows.
Walthorn believes it may be someone living nearby. If you know the man seen in the video or have any information, you're asked to call Wyoming Police at 616-530-7300.
