Brazen burglar brought to justice

A MAN alleged to have broken into three occupied homes and terrifying the occupants before escaping has been arrested in Alicante, reported the National Police.

The first alert came from a man who had fallen asleep on his sofa and woke to find an intruder in his home, who threatened him with a knife and demanded all the money in the property.

The burglar hit him in the face and forced him into one of the bedrooms but the victim climbed over the balcony to the apartment below and then to the street to call for help.

Patrols arrived to find the front door lock had been broken and a kitchen knife on the lounge floor. The victim said the burglar had stolen his television and €3,800 in cash.

On a subsequent night, a woman reported she had surprised a man with a knife in her house, who demanded all of her money.

She said she had no cash but he took a pair of her son’s trainers then tried to get out using keys he had found, but the key broke off in the lock so he resorted to jumping off the terrace.

An hour later, officers were already in the area and heard that the same man had gone into another house and been discovered by the woman living there. He did not get a chance to steal anything but when he heard the police sirens nearby he told her not to scream, and fled. Officers searching the area caught a suspect who matched the description given by the victim and was also wearing the distinctive shoes stolen from the second house. The man tried to escape and resisted arrest but was eventually subdued and detained.

When police interviewed the third victim she also claimed the man had tried to sexually assault her but did not manage to do so because the force had arrived so quickly.

The suspect is a 28-year-old Spaniard and has been remanded in custody.