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Roommates find stranger lurking inside home: ‘It has to be the same person’

Posted at 7:27 PM, Dec 30, 2016
and last updated 2016-12-30 19:29:08-05

RICHMOND, Va. -- As police continue to search for the man a nurse said was peering into her bedroom doorWednesday morning, another group of roommates said a man fitting his description broke into their home in the Fan recently.

The roommates, who live in an apartment on Floyd Avenue, spoke with WTVR CBS 6 about two incidents on the condition of anonymity.

The first time they saw a stranger inside their apartment was on Saturday, Nov. 26.

Richmond's Fan Neighborhood.

Richmond's Fan Neighborhood.

"He like stopped at my room and opened my bedroom door. And that's what was creepy,” the woman said. “And then when walked out my room, he ran towards the back door. And I looked through the blinds – and he like didn’t even run away.”

She said she saw the man standing there, crouched down and looking up at her.

“I saw him and yelled at him. And I was like, ‘Who are you? Get out of here!’" she said. "And then he went away.”

Richmond's Fan Neighborhood.

Richmond's Fan Neighborhood.

A similar situation happened weeks later on Friday, Dec. 23. That was when a man walked into their apartment while another roommate was having a holiday party.

She believes it was the same man and said they called police.

“And they did a report and the police sent a car by to look around,” she said. “He never took anything from what we could notice. [He] was just in our house.”

When the roommates learned about a nurse who woke up to a man’s shadow in her Fan home, they connected the dots.

“So when I read the article – and that happened to the other woman – how he like opened her bedroom door. It was just like super creepy. And that is when I was like, ‘It has to be the same person.’ Who does that?”

Neighbor Chris Giannasi, who recently moved in, was startled by the news.

“I've been lucky enough to never experience that, but i think it would be pretty traumatic for myself..so to think about taking extra measures definitely wouldn't hurt,” said

The roommates are now taking extra security measures  hoping to keep the intruder away.

“So this is like a brand-new deadbolt,” the woman said. “We didn't have one before...and then we have a whole new doorknob.”

Tips

Tips

Richmond police said criminals tempted by valuables are bolder during this time of the year.

Officers advise folks to keep doors and windows closed and locked, store valuables out of sight and don't dispose of boxes that display large ticket items like TVs or other electronics.

Instead, break down the boxes and find the closest recycling center for disposal.

And the moment you see suspicious activity, call 911.

Richmond police have not confirmed whether the break-ins are related.

However, authorities urged anyone who has had a similar experience contact Detective Greg Sullivan at 804-646-1950.

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