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January 18, 2008 - 10:20AM
Burglar in monkey pajamas startles twin sisters
Gary Grado, Tribune
A cat burglar in monkey pajamas was arrested Friday after a 21-year-old ASU student woke up with him in her bedroom.
Sgt. Mike Horn, Tempe police spokesman, said the victim’s calm under pressure and a patrol officer’s good memory led to the arrest of the 17-year-old suspect, who was in possession of cash from the woman and her twin sister, including a dollar in an origami shape.
The woman said she arrived home at her apartment at 1975 E. University Drive at 3:30 a.m. after finishing her shift as a bartender.
The woman, Leanne, who declined to provide her last name out of fear of reprisal, said she left a light on in the hallway as she usually does when going to bed. She was startled from sleep at 5:30 a.m.
“I felt something cold touch my foot,” Leanne said.
Then she noticed that the hallway light was now off. She grabbed her cell phone, stood on her bed and reached to turn on the light.
The burglar was laying face down on the floor, wearing monkey pattern pajamas and “grandpa” slippers, the woman said.
“He didn’t move a muscle,” Leanne said.
She screamed as she jumped over him and ran to her sister’s room.
“My heart just dropped, I must be dreaming,” she said. “Thank God he wasn’t armed.”
The burglar got up and left through the sliding glass door, which Leanne said had been locked but wasn’t very secure.
Police arrived, and one of the officers on scene said he knew of someone in the same apartment complex who matched the physical description Leanne gave.
The officers went to the apartment of the person who fit the description, and someone else answered the door. But officers also say a teenager laying on the floor in monkey pajamas.
The sisters had described a dollar folded in an origami shape, and police found that bill among the cash.
Horn said the name of the burglary suspect won’t be released until investigators determine whether he’s been involved in any other crimes.
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