Polite Burglar Breaks into Wrong House, Offers to Fix Damage
The polite burglar is a rare breed, with most of them shirking their manners in favor of dispossessing homeowners of their beloved belongings.
But a woman in Vineland, New Jersey encountered a member of this endangered species last week, after coming home to find him looking for some guy named Greg.
By all accounts, the specimen was as polite as the species is rumored to be.
Awestruck by her meeting with the polite burglar, Maria Cardona shared her tale with local police, telling them that she entered her home only to find him standing inside, reports the Press of Atlantic City.
Curious, she asked him what he was doing there.
His response? He was looking for someone named Greg, who lived at 1021.
Alas! The encounter was a fluke, as the paper reports that Ms. Cardona lives at 1022.
The polite burglar then apologized, offering to pay for the screen that he had cut in a bid to break into her home.
She declined, and asked him to leave.
The only question that now remains is how police and prosecutors will deal with the elusive polite burglar once he is caught.
Will they experiment on him? Or merely put him in a cage (aka jail) for the public's viewing pleasure?
The latter of these two is the most likely scenario, as a mistake of fact does not necessarily excuse a crime. Indeed, if the polite burglar intended to enter Greg's home with the intent to commit a felony inside, then it is irrelevant whether he was actually in Ms. Cardona's home instead.
Related Resources:
- Polite Burglar Offers to Repair Damage: Cops (NBC)
- Mistake of Fact (FindLaw)
- Police Find Burglar Locked in Storage Unit (FindLaw's Legal Grounds)