Published March 13, 2008

Marble Hill mobile homes targeted in rash of attempted break-ins

Authorities are searching for a masked man responsible for breaking into a Fortner Road home on March 1 and scores of other attempted break-ins in the Marble Hill area.
According to Captain Kim Murphy with the sheriff’s office, a white male, approximately six feet tall with medium build, broke into a home and ran away when one of the residents, a 13-year-old girl, was awakened. The man, dressed all in black, was also wearing a ski mask. The break-in occurred around 3:00 a.m., Murphy said.
“The 13-year-old woke up, and there was a man standing in her room with a mask over his face,” Murphy said. “The parents were asleep in their bedroom.”
Murphy said the same man is wanted for a similar break-in back in November. Murphy said then a similarly-clad man broke into a home owned by an elderly lady who happened to be in the hospital at the time. Her grandson was staying at the home when a masked man entered via a sliding glass door between 2:00 and 3:00 a.m.
“The grandson did pick up a firearm and fired off a round but did not hit the suspect,” Murphy said. “Again it was the same description as in this most recent case.”
Murphy said in both cases the man entered through a door. Authorities say nothing was stolen in either incident.
“Unfortunately we have a limited description of him, because he’s always had his face covered,” Murphy said.
Following the report, authorities canvassed the area and found numerous reports of a man, dressed all in black, lurking in the Marble Hill area and attempting to break into homes.
“We went door-to-door and canvassed some 40 homes in the area, and we found another eight to 10 cases where there was an attempted break-in,” Murphy said.
According to Murphy, many of the previously unreported cases were from people who were awakened to noises but were able to run off the intruder.
“People have seen him peeking into windows, and they ran him off, so they never made a call to 911. We’ve since talked to people who had their screened porch messed with or where there are pry marks on their back door, but he was not able to make entry.”
Murphy said, during the canvas, residents were coming out to meet deputies in the middle
of the road to make reports of similar incidents.
“They didn’t think to report what had happened to them until word got around that he escalated and he started going into homes,” Murphy said.
Attempted break-ins have occurred on Bridle Path Drive, Brigadier Court and Chivalry Lane, all in the Marble Hill area and all at mobile homes.
“These are more isolated areas, not close to any major highways,” Murphy said. “Unfortunately the people who were able to run him off didn’t get a good description, just that he was wearing all black. Every report has been that he left on foot. Nobody heard a vehicle start up or saw a vehicle in the area.”
Murphy said incidents occurring through the week typically happen between 7:00 p.m. and midnight, and those on the weekend occur between 2:00 and 3:00 a.m.
“A lot of the thefts we deal with are in the daytime - that’s when burglaries typically happen, when people are at work. The burglars feel free to go into homes and take what they can. This is peculiar in that he’s coming in when people are there. And that’s our concern, that people are home when these incidences are taking place.”
Murphy said authorities have tried to do some background and get a profile on the intruder.
“We don’t believe theft is the motive. He’s going in and messing around when people are there and asleep. We’re still not sure at this point what the motive is.”
Murphy advised local residents to be diligent in locking their doors and to watch out for their neighbors.
“A lot of folks who have lived in a place for several years feel comfortable and never lock their doors,” Murphy said. “I recommend leaving a porch light on or some exterior light that may deter him, and look out for your neighbors. I think people are starting to do that - they’re keeping their eyes out for him.”
“People who’ve lived in an area for a while know if they see someone out of place. They know who should be there and who should not. We’re relying on the public for any information that comes in.”
Murphy asked residents to report anything they see that might be related, regardless of how trivial it may seem.
“It will only take one case to find out who this person is,” she said.
Murphy credited additional patrols in the area to the lack of reports over the past week.