Scarsdale Family Shaken Up After Brazen Halloween Burglary
SCARSDALE, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- A Westchester County family was recovering Tuesday night from a serious Halloween scare.
As CBS2's Lou Young reported, a burglar woke the family from their sleep after trick-or-treating had ended.
The intruder met a startled homeowner in a bedroom at the sprawling home on Kensington Road near Chesterfield Road.
"That's horrible. That's terrible. Are you kidding me?" said Mary Mancuso of Scarsdale. "I don't know what to say."
It was quite the shock on Halloween night. On Tuesday, Scarsdale was still festooned with decorations and dropped treats left among the leaf piles. The burglar may have used the spooky holiday as cover for movement through the upscale streets.
"It happened on Halloween, and it's obviously an easy way to get away with doing that, but we don't know for sure," said Scarsdale police Capt. Thomas Altizio.
Even after sunrise, the homeowners were still too upset to talk about it. They were freaked out by the fact that they met a man wearing a ski mask in their bedroom.
The burglar was pretty freaked out too -- dropping his loot on the way out. That means police have forensic evidence to match to a suspect -- if and when they find one.
Police suspect the burglar thought the house was empty.
The intruder came through a sliding door at the rear of the home. It was locked, but the alarm apparently was not set.
It is common for homeowners to use their alarms to protect valuables when they are away, and forget to protect themselves when they're home.
Jay Rosen said he does not put his alarm on at night.
"I would think I would know somebody coming in the house," he said.
But he added he will now be putting his alarm on after the burglary.
This was the first Scarsdale burglary in months. Following a string of break-ins in surrounding communities last year, a county task force has seemed to diminish, but not eliminate, the threat.
"It doesn't surprise me to hear that there's another example of it, but by and large, I feel very safe here," said Florie Wachtenheim of Scarsdale.
Police are warning homeowners to keep their guard up as the holidays approach later this month.
