Police have apprehended an individual who, since at least 2015, has been clandestinely entering residences in Prague and the Central Bohemian Region during the night while occupants were asleep, stealing money and small valuables. He also surreptitiously observed the sleeping occupants, with one instance of him sitting beside a slumbering girl. On Friday, Police spokesman Jan Rybanský provided updates on the case.
After a three-year manhunt, law enforcement arrested the suspected perpetrator of a series of home invasions in family homes throughout Prague and the Central Bohemia region. He had been captured on security cameras during his illicit activities. The arrest occurred just in the nick of time, as the suspect was on the verge of departing for North America in an attempt to start a new life.
Rybanský stated, “After three years of intensive investigation, detectives have apprehended an individual who, for several years, surreptitiously entered family homes while people were sleeping. The only traces left of him were the images captured by CCTV cameras.”
The police had publicized the search a year earlier, releasing security camera footage that rivaled the most chilling scenes from horror films. The footage depicted a limping man who exhibited no fear while robbing homes with sleeping occupants, often gazing directly into home cameras.
The spokesman added, “There is also a documented case where he briefly sat on the bed of an unsuspecting sleeping girl before departing. After his departure, homeowners were left with unsettling feelings and numerous questions about his identity, along with a wealth of CCTV footage.”
The first recorded case occurred in late March 2015, with the most recent in July of the current year. Investigators suspect the accused of being involved in a total of twenty-one home burglaries, resulting in nearly eight million crowns worth of damage. As the investigation is ongoing, the final number may not be definitive.
The search proved to be challenging, as leads led detectives to numerous suspects but failed to unveil the identity of the “intruder,” as law enforcement officers came to refer to him.
Detectives ultimately succeeded in capturing the man at one of Prague’s guesthouses in recent weeks. Rybanský did not disclose the precise factors that led to the suspect’s apprehension, only stating that it involved “a combination of analytical profiling and expertise in a criminal context.”
The arrest took place moments before the suspect’s planned departure to North America. During the search, stolen items were recovered, along with plane tickets for a trip to North America scheduled in a few days, where the detainee intended to begin a new life. The fifty-one-year-old accused is currently in custody, awaiting his legal fate. If convicted, he faces a potential sentence of up to eight years in prison for charges related to invasion of privacy and theft.
Source: novinky.cz
