Pasco Homeowner Helps Take Grinch Off the Street

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By Chelsea Kopta

Summary

A Pasco man told Action News how he helped lead police to the man ripping off homes around 13th street.

Story Published: Dec 18, 2009 at 5:33 PM PST

PASCO, WA -- Peter campos said he was sleeping when he heard a knock at the front door on Black Friday.

Before he could answer it, banging sounds rang out on the side of his house on 15th and Agate in Pasco. He showed Action News where a thief was making his way through his gate.

"He had just enough room to sneak through," he pointed out.

Within minutes, the stranger was at his back window.

"Sure enough I see this guy's head coming through the window and I tried to get something to hit him with," Campos said.

With presents under the tree, flat screen tvs and other valuables sprinkled around the house, Campos had to act fast. And it seems, he and his family did. Campos called 911 while his brother chased the thief down the street - in only basketball shorts - before he managed to steal anything.

But the neighbors across the street were not so fortunate. Campos said the crook made off with two of their laptops and roughly $6,000 worth of jewelry.

"The police wanted us to know who he was cause he's been on a home burglary spree," Campos said.

The damaged apparently spanned from 13th to 17th streets. Action News spoke with at least half a dozen neighbors. none wanted to go on camera but many admitted investing in security systems after they'd been victims of theft. the numbers show, however, home burglaries have been cut in half since last year.

"More than anything it messes with your comfort zone," Campos said.

It's an uncomfortable feeling that rallied the community behind neighborhood watch and put police on alert. Cops caught the thief days after he tried to break into Campos' home.

"I was at the right place at the right time," he said. "Took a little grinch off the street now."