CBS2 Exclusive: NJ Woman Says Polite Burglar Interrupted Early Evening Nap

LINDEN, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- A New Jersey homeowner recently came face-to-face with a burglar who apparently has manners.

"He goes, 'Oh, I'm sorry,' and I was like, 'What are you doing in my house?'" Lissette Mayes told CBS2's Jessica Schneider.

Mayes was taking a nap around 6 p.m. on Monday when a man appeared in her bedroom doorway.

"He just got up to here and he did one of these, like he was coming in. When I picked up my head, his face was just in shock, he was like, 'Oh!'" she said.

Minutes earlier the bold burglar cut the bottom of a kitchen window screen and climbed in.

"He was smart enough to cut it. He put his fingers in to lift the screen so it wouldn't make enough noise," Mayes said.

Mayes said she doesn't worry about the window because it's directly over a stairwell and would require some serious maneuvering to get in.

"He had to be a contortionist to get himself up there," Captain James Sarnicki said.

Capt. Sarnicki said police have seen an uptick in break-ins in the area off Academy Terrace in Linden.

The burglar quickly retreated, and apologized.

"He seems like he was a kind burglar. He apologized," Mayes said.

But she knows it could have been a lot worse.

"It wasn't until I was on the phone with 911, the man asked me, 'Ma'am are you okay?' That it hit me. I started crying and said, 'No, I'm not okay. There was a man in my house,'" she said.

In the future, Mayes plans to keep her windows shut and the alarm on.