So the 32-year-old salesman, who was on his lunch break, raced home to find what he feared – his house had been broken into.
But to his surprise his house had not only been broken into once that day, but twice, likely to be by the same offender, CCTV home security footage would reveal.
When he got to his Spreydon home several minutes after the 1.25pm alert, he saw a man taking off on an electric scooter – which turned out to be his.
“When I got home I realised I had been burgled,” he said.
“And that was him so I just missed him.”
After surveying what had been taken he looked at his phone and saw an earlier alert at 10.55am, which he had not seen at the time as he was working.
The CCTV footage showed the same man knocking on his door. Twenty minutes later the CCTV camera captures the suspect leaving through the front door carrying a safe.
The homeowner, who wanted to remain anonymous, discovered the kitchen window was smashed and front door left unlocked. Laptops, iPads, watches, aftershaves, gym gear, an electric scooter and a safe with documents in it were taken.
Footage also shows the suspect returning at 1.25pm to take the scooter and other belongings.
“Someone’s gone through all your personal stuff. Your home is where all your stuff is and where you feel safe, so to have someone go through it is pretty violating,” he said.
But the suspect made a major mistake. The first time he went to the house he approached the front door with his Covid mask down, CCTV footage captured his face.
The second time he covered his face with a shirt pulled up.
“He obviously doesn’t really know what he’s doing,” the homeowner said.
“[He] looked straight at the camera with no mask on and didn’t wear gloves or anything.”
Police fingerprinted the house and also have the CCTV footage which shows the suspect’s face.
The safe was found ripped open on the banks of the Avon River.
“If I didn’t have that camera I wouldn’t have known he had been twice,” he said.
“Because I know what happened it sort of removes all the questions and doubt which is quite good. I know what happened, I’m not thrilled about it but at least I know.”
