Surveillance video captured the moment an intruder broke into a Lakewood home while a family was inside.
“It was about 8:30 p.m. and my sister, my grandchildren and myself, we were all here,” said Shimika Davis, the homeowner. “My grandchildren and I were upstairs and he was downstairs in my home.”
Video shows the intruder climbing over a wall in the victim’s backyard and walking to the back patio door. He peered into the home for nearly an hour before breaking in.
“He got in through an unlocked door, unfortunately,” said Davis.
When she received a notification of the intruder on her Ring camera app, she decided to go downstairs and confront him.
“I went outside and I started yelling at him and he’s ducking down and I’m like, ‘I see you!’” she recalled. “Then he jumped up and jumped across my neighbor’s wall.”
She said the entire ordeal lasted only minutes and he wasn’t able to escape with any valuables. However, the close call has left her family shaken.
“I’m feeling unsafe,” Davis said. “I feel very violated. I feel uneasy. I feel like your home should be your safety net at all times and I feel like no one should violate that.”
Residents in the neighborhood have been on alert since the break-in. They are hoping police can identify and arrest the suspect before he strikes again.
Authorities believe the suspect had been creeping around other backyards in the area throughout the week as well.
Anyone who may recognize the man or has additional information is asked to call the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department at 213-229-1700.