In case you were wondering why I was posting so early this morning, it was because we had a guy break into our house last night at around 3:00a, while we were here and asleep.
We know who it was.
I fell asleep on the couch last night watching TV so I didn't go through my "shut down" procedure routine. The house was lit up and the TV was on. The last thing I usually do before retiring is lock the front door, so it was unlocked. The couch is right next to the front door but I didn't hear a thing when he entered.
What awakened me was footsteps coming down the stairs and in my groggy state I simply thought that 9 year-old Jesse was coming down for breakfast before school like we usually do around 6:15, so the darkness outside was as I would have expected. Right after I heard the footsteps I heard the front door close and I thought, "great, Jesse has gone out to get my paper... that's unusual". The door's closing was followed by another person descending the stairs... door opening and my wife Jinni yelling, "GET OUT OF HERE!!!" and another slamming of the front door. Now awakening, I sat up and asked her who she was yelling at. She said "B*** P*****". I went to the front door, now fully awake, and he was gone.
Jinni related that she was asleep and heard someone walking through our bedroom, closet and bathroom, she watched him for a bit trying to discern who it was and finally said, "Jack (son, 14), go to bed" which was followed by a grunt of some sort and the person left the bedroom and headed down the stairs. She picked up the phone and came down stairs just after the intruder closed the door and saw him picking something up off of one of our porch chairs and turning to leave.
Because this person is someone that we know well, we talked about what should do but finally decided to report the incident to the police. They have just arrived, so I will fill you in on the rest of the details soon.
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Update 8:30p Had a lot to do, some of which was to meet with two Mobile Response Officers... you know, those folks who drive around in the white vans with "Crime Scene Investigation" (CSI for you TV fans) on the side. The first one was a complete dumbass and just couldn't see the point in trying to lift fingerprints and assuring me that I would hear something "within a couple of weeks". She categorized the offense as "unlawful breaking and entering", a misdemeanor. Having felt NO satisfaction from this CSI, I called some police officers I know and asked their advice on how to proceed. They "hooked me up" very well and got things rolling
The second guy apologized for the first and was great! I had several 6 - 9 year olds hanging around and they were all VERY interested in the evidence discovery process. When it was all over, all of them had fingerprint dust on them and were offering the officer advice on what else to do. The officer got some pretty good prints which will serve to corroberate Jinni's positive ID.
The probable offense: Burglary in the First Degree. Conditions: G.S. 14-51, requires the State to prove that a defendant 1) breaks 2) and enters 3) at night 4) into the house or apartment 5) of another 6) which is occupied at the time of the offense 7) with the intent to commit a felony inside the home." That's more like it.
1:16:12 PM 
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