Neighbors on Alert After Horseback Trail Burglary

Neighbors of the Horseback Trail residence burglarized by a suspected serial burglar Tuesday morning say they're uncomfortable and shaken after police canvassed their streets with search dogs, tracing the burglar's attempts to fronts and backs of several other homes.

"I think everyone's grateful that he hasn't harmed anyone. He seems brazen," said Beth Tudan, who was approached by police this morning as she waited at the bus stop."But we're concerned this guy is walking around these neighborhoods and nobody seems to be able to find him."

It was the 93rd incident linked to the same suspect, police said earlier today.

In addition to the home that reported cash missing, the suspect also attempted to enter Rosanne Flynn's Saddleview Court home, cutting a large hole in the mesh screen of the sliding glass door to her deck. Flynn slept through the night in her bedroom just above that door, with the windows wide open.

"I didn't hear a thing," she said.

Flynn's sliding door had a dead bolt, as does the door between her garage and her home. The burglar attempted to enter the home that way, picking the door from the backyard into her garage with a screwdriver, but didn't make it inside the house.

Andrew Chrostowski, 26, who lives in the Horseback Trail home that was burglarized, said the screen door the serial burglar used to enter his family's home was unsecured.

Until now, the family, who has lived there for 12 years, hasn't worried about this kind of activity. The family has several dogs, one of which spent the night on the floor near the couch close to Chrostowski's mother's purse, which the burglar left behind after taking cash from it. The dog didn't bark or alert residents.

It was an unnerving thought to neighbors who thought their dogs would keep them safe.

"That really concerned me because the guy didn't seem to care and robbed them anyway," said Liz Potemra, who was stopped by police as she walked her dog this morning.

Tudan, who lives on Tamarack Drive, said her friend had cash taken from her purse in the Hannah Farms robberies also linked to the same suspect, just up the road from where these robberies occurred. That friend's dog didn't make noise, either.

"It's very strange," Tudan said. "Does he have a whistle? We don't know what he's doing that's making the dogs not react."

Tudan said she heard from other neighbors that the suspect could be surveying houses in the daytime to plan an exit route for the night. Potemra said there was a hailstorm last May that damaged many roofs and homes, so it's been hard to keep track of cars that may or may not be suspicious during the day.

"A lot of vans and trucks have been coming through the area repairing the damages," Potemra said.

In a neighborhood Potemra said has "never had to be all that careful before this," many residents are taking extra precautions. Chrostowski says they'll probably be more careful to check locks, and keep more dogs on the ground level. Potemra said she's going to keep her purse near her bed on the second floor.

And Flynn, who came the closest to having the burglar in her home, wasted no time in making sure the suspect didn't return.

"There wasn't a deadbolt on the [exterior garage] door this morning," she said. "But you can be sure there is now."