By CHRISTIAN MONTERROSA | Reporter
A burglar made off with over $12,000 worth of property from a home on the intersection of Amalfi Drive and Upper Mesa Road in Santa Monica Canyon on Saturday, Oct. 6, at around 9 a.m., according to the homeowner.
Jito Chadha and his girlfriend had just arrived home when they noticed several missing belongings, including two computers, an iPhone and iPad, clothing, and a Rolex watch.
Upon checking tapes from his home security camera, Chadha realized that his home had been burglarized just minutes before they arrived by who he described as an African-American male with a black hooded sweatshirt with white stripes on it.
“On one camera you see us entering, and on the other camera, you see this dude is still on the premises,” Chadha said. “He’s basically sitting on a step that’s against one of our fences and you see him packing up the things that he took.
“He turns to go back into the house, he turns and I’m pretty sure he sees me in the living room and then he takes off.”
Chadha said they also found a large knife from their kitchen on their bed.
“It appears he was ready to intimidate with the knife or worse,” he said.
After filing a police report, Chadha said he was told by police that a detective would be stopping by to dust for fingerprints, but as of Tuesday, that had not happened.
Over the last 10 years, Chadha said, this is the fifth break-in that he has experienced at his home and believes the corner location makes it a prime attraction for break-ins. He said that people knock on the door to see if anyone is home. Surprised to find him there, Chadha said they come up with random explanations for their visit.
“Once they asked me if they could get advice on life so that they could one day have a house like this,” he said.
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