A burglar was captured on camera brazenly breaking into a home in Hebron and making off with Christmas presents.
It happened on Senate Brook Drive last Thursday around 1 p.m., according to State Police.
A man can be seen in surveillance video coming through the back door and making several trips in and out of Maria McKeon’s home with her Christmas presents—still in their shipping boxes—in hand.
“There was a 50-inch TV. There was a computer…” McKeon said. “My kids and I had sort of adopted a family in need and so we had ordered some things for them. And all these things are just gone! It’s just incredible that someone can wipe out your entire Christmas.”
McKeon had a camera system set up that can sense and send alerts when someone rings the doorbell, enters a home, even talks in a room.
She had to turn off her phone last Thursday while at work. When she turned it back on, she saw notifications that someone had been inside and then saw video of a man stealing from her. In the video, it’s clear the man rings the doorbell a handful of times and knocks on the back door before entering.
The suspect also stole McKeon’s jewelry, including family heirlooms and macaroni bracelets her children made for her when they were little.
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“A lot of the time I work out of the house so I could have been home. You don’t know if he would have– what he would have done if he had a gun with him,” McKeon said, who is on edge after the incident. She’s now double or triple locking doors.
Before this happened, McKeon was already taking steps to protect her packages. Neighbor Joe Fiumara took some into the garage that day so they weren’t sitting outside.
“Our guards and our defenses are always up wondering if something that would happen again in our neighborhood or anywhere else for that matter,” Fiumara said.
He checked in on McKeon’s home after she saw the burglary video and told her the back door was wide open.
With surveillance video circling on Facebook, police are hoping someone recognizes the person responsible and it leads to an arrest.
Hebron Resident State Trooper Dan Greenwood said several tips have come into Troop K and he encourages anyone who might know something to call in with information.
Another burglary happened that day around the same time but on the other side of town, Greenwood said. Troopers are looking into whether there’s a link.
Troopers are also checking pawn shops and going onto online systems to see if any of the items are pawned off or sold on the black market, Greenwood said.
Something Simple Café in Hebron reached out to McKeon. Starting Wednesday, they will be collecting donations for the family-in-need McKeon and her family were assisting this holiday season. Any person who drops off a gift gets a free hot chocolate, according to owner Jessica Dapsis. Employees will also collectively be making a contribution.
