Anoka Burglary Caught On Home Security Camera
ANOKA, Minn. (WCCO) -- Thieves who broke into an Anoka apartment building Sunday morning got away with some valuable merchandise, and they also got caught on camera.
What the three young men didn't realize is a home security camera was recording the crime as it happened, and notifying the couple who lives there.
"It makes it very bold to kick in someone's door invade their privacy and steal their stuff. That doesn't happen every day," Anoka Police Captain Eric Peterson said.
Anoka police say the burglary happened at a time when there were multiple witnesses at a large apartment complex in the 2800 block of Cutter's Grove. Three young men walked out with a large flat screen TV, an iPad Mini, some jewelry and credit cards.
The couple who lives there wasn't at home, but they were watching through a high-tech security system.
"I got a notification on my phone through a security camera that said 'unknown face detected,'" said the young woman who lives in the apartment with her fiancé. "It was terrifying. I was shaking, trying to contact police, stuff like that. It was really like a big knot in my stomach."
The 23-year-old woman doesn't want to be identified. She told us she and her fiancé were both out of town at the time, but inside the apartment they'd just moved into three weeks ago, they had installed a security camera that sends email alerts when it doesn't recognize a face.
After watching the attached video, she called Anoka police.
"It's just scary, you know, to see people in your house, taking your things, violating your privacy, and you can't do anything about it. I was nowhere close. It's scary," she said.
Investigators say the door that was kicked in by one of the thieves was a sturdy one, with a deadbolt lock.
"This video is significant to this investigation. It will help us develop leads and certainly help in the prosecution of this case," Captain Peterson said.
The men have not been arrested and Anoka police want you to call them if you recognize the men in the surveillance video.
Police say they've spoken to several witnesses. One witness described what may have been the getaway car -- a silver Volkswagen with a hatchback, maybe a VW Golf, seen leaving the building right before police arrived.
Anyone with information should call 763-427-1212. If arrested, the men face a felony second-degree burglary charge.
