By Brendan Rees
A Lynbrook father has told of the moment he confronted a home invader as his family slept during the early hours of Tuesday morning, 31 March.
The man, who asked not to be named, said he now kept a cricket bat next to his bed following the ordeal.
He said his 13-year-old son was woken about 1.15am after hearing rustling sounds and a fridge opening downstairs.
“He poked his head downstairs and saw someone using their phone as a flashlight,” the father said.
Initially thinking the noise may have been their cats, the man hurried to the top of the stairs where he made eye-contact with the intruder who appeared no older than his teens.
“I yelled and he looked down the corridor and said ‘let’s go’ or something to that effect and then took off,” he said.
“My wife was still half-sleep, I was like ‘call the cops, call the cops’.”
The man said it was likely the intruder had jumped the fence before gaining entry to the back roller door of their garage.
It’s alleged the intruder, who may have been with two others, found a spare key for the back door in one of family’s two cars parked in the garage.
“I guess they flipped opened the latch of our security door which we usually lock,” the man said.
“I’ve been working from home for the past two weeks so we probably got a bit complacent.”
Among the items stolen were iPads, tablets, and a phone.
“In the scheme of things if that’s all that happened, I’m happy that was the extent of it and everyone was safe.”
The police dog squad was called out but unfortunately no one was caught, he said.
The man hoped by sharing his story that others would lock their homes and check their security screens to ensure they were up-to-date.
CCTV from a neighbour captured a group of people walking off just after the break-in, which has been handed to police.
Crime scene officers have told the man they had noticed the people in the footage wearing gloves, and “there probably wasn’t a lot they were going to be able to get in terms of evidence”.
Victoria Police has been contacted for comment, and Casey Crime Investigation Unit detectives are investigating.
Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
