Masked would-be burglar caught on camera

It’s not Halloween yet, but one masked man has been going door to door and he’s not looking for candy.

On Wednesday morning, a northern Pocatello man and his wife were going through their daily routine — a six o’clock wake up followed by a cup of coffee and a review of the motion captured overnight on their Ring doorbell.

“We’re just nonchalantly scanning through them … and when I hit the 1:03 [a.m.], all of a sudden there is a human being that is apparently wanting into my garage. And that’s when the whole thing started,” the homeowner, who asked to remain anonymous, said.

The attempted burglar, donning an old-school hockey mask, black striped sweat pants, a gray sweatshirt and red slippers was unable to gain entrance and quickly moved on.

But certain things the masked man did make the homeowner believe it wasn’t his first time.

“He turned and looked back, which made me think that he had tried my neighbor’s garage door, which the configuration is similar to mine, and he turned and looked back to see if that attempted entrance awakened my neighbor, which, in turn, would have turned on a light. But the sleeve over [the hands], this is not his first rodeo, period.”

On Wednesday, a picture of the attempt was shared online and picked up some traction. That night, the homeowner decided to pull a military watch and stayed up all night monitoring his property.

“During the night, I thought I heard several noises that I interpreted [as] someone trying to gain entrance into my vehicle,” he said.

So he called the Pocatello Police, but nothing was found. He says he might have been hypersensitive but was put at ease when the police arrived. They say he had done everything right to prevent incidents of the sort.

“You know, he’s got good lighting, his doors were all locked, and he’s got cameras. So, that is what we encourage the public to do is just keeping all your property locked up and everything well lit is the best thing that you can do to protect yourself against burglars and intruders,” Dianne Brush, community services specialist for the department, said.

The homeowner said he knows he’s done all he can to keep himself safe and plans to be vigilant again Thursday evening.

“And should they come in, then I’ll deal with that when it happens.”

Police have not yet identified the individual in the video.