Newtown mom says new Ring camera alerted her to neighbor using knife to break into home

By Dan Griffin

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    NEWTOWN, Ohio (WLWT) — A Newtown woman found her neighbor trying to break in to her home in the middle of the night.

She said he was jamming a knife into her door and a brand-new Ring camera tipped her off to the trouble.

The woman who spotted the man jamming a knife into her front door said she was doing everything she could to get him to leave, but when he wouldn’t, she called Newtown police.

Officers said her actions made every bit of difference.

“He took away the peace and quiet that we had in our new home,” Megan Allen said.

It was a terrible invasion of privacy.

Allen, a mother in Newtown, said she caught her neighbor on her Ring doorbell camera using a knife on her front door to try to get in.

“He had offered to mow the lawn and came across as just trying to be a friendly neighbor, but his vibes were very, just aggressive to say good morning and good night, and beautiful lady, this and that,” she said.

She said she bought the camera on Friday because her neighbor was making her feel uncomfortable.

Just after midnight Monday, she said he was at her door.

She called 911.

Newtown police, Mariemont police and the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office responded to her home on Drake Street.

After a foot chase, they arrested Jolge Alberto Chavez-Reynozo in nearby woods, where he told them he wanted to save her from a big man he saw.

“He didn’t fight at all. He just gave us his hands and we were able to handcuff him and take him into custody,” Newtown police Officer Andrew Niederschmidt said.

Niederschmidt has only been with Newtown police for less than a year and full-time with the department for about three months.

He caught and tackled Chavez-Reynozo.

Newtown police Chief Tom Synan said Allen did everything right.

It’s a good lesson for everyone, he said.

“Because she was calm, because she had that early warning system and because she was able to give us a lot of information, it helped us not only apprehend the suspect, but she helped herself and protected herself and her family,” Synan said.

Allen doesn’t know what Chavez-Reynozo wanted to do but said he won’t ruin her new home.

“We’re going to be safe and be smart, but I don’t see why someone should scare us away. We’re not going to leave,” she said.

Police said they have not had any encounters with the suspect before this.

They’re now working to get the video evidence to the prosecutor.

Newtown police said they are working to clarify the suspect’s citizenship status.

He is charged with attempted burglary, obstructing official business, criminal trespass and carrying a concealed weapon.

Chavez-Reynozo is set to face a Hamilton County judge for arraignment at 9 a.m. Tuesday.

When we went to his address for comment, no one answered the door.

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