IT’S, MY HOUSE NOW KID
Bizarre ‘break-in’ bust
A Connecticut man broke into a family’s home and tried to take over the residence as his own, according to state police.
Benjamin Dahm, 31, was arrested inside a second-floor bathroom in the family’s Meetinghouse Lane home in Old Lyme late Monday after a 16-yearold boy arrived at his house and spotted an unfamiliar car with no license plates parked in the garage, state police records cited by the Hartford Courant show.
The teen noticed the front door was locked and then saw a man he didn’t recognize inside the house wearing shorts without a shirt, apparently making himself at home.
The man, identified by Connecticut State Police as Dahm (mug shot, inset) then saw the teen and opened a window to warn the kid, according to an incident report.
“This isn’t your house anymore,” Dahm told the teen before slamming the window shut, the unidentified boy told cops.
A landscaper arrived to do scheduled work on the property just after the bizarre encounter and called the police. The shocked teen, meanwhile, called his mother to explain what was going on.
Troopers arrived at the home and tried to get the suspect’s attention but had trouble doing so because he was blaring loud music inside. He eventually made eye contact with a trooper, but he allegedly refused to leave the home.
At one point, Dahm downplayed the situation, saying he had every right to be there, state police said.
“I live here with my girlfriend. There shouldn’t be any problems. She will be home shortly,” Dahm allegedly told the officers as they held him at gunpoint.
But Dahm was some 20 miles away from his actual residence, an apartment in Gales Ferry, according to the Courant.
State troopers and a K-9 ultimately got into the home via a basement storm hatch and ordered Dahm out, but he again allegedly ignored commands. Cops later found him hiding in an upstairs bathroom and took him into custody without incident, according to the report.
No visible damage was left behind in the family’s home and no property or items were stolen, state police said. The vehicle he drove to the home, identified as a Jeep Cherokee, was towed from the residence.
Dahm was charged with third-degree burglary, second-degree criminal trespass, disorderly conduct and interfering with an officer, court records cited by the Courant show.
He was still jailed early Wednesday on a $50,000 bond, Department of Corrections records show. It was unclear if he had hired an attorney.
Dahm has another six active criminal and motor-vehicle cases pending in Connecticut courts from April through July, including charges of disorderly conduct and violating conditions of his release, court records show.