Neighbors Help Nab Burglary Suspects

It was a bold plan. Five men casually broke into a Colorado Springs home and calmly stroll to their getaway vehicle with stolen property in broad daylight. Colorado Springs police said it happened around 10:30 Friday morning on Sodbuster Trail at the home of David and Amy Graham.

However, police said the robbers didn’t count on being seen by neighbors after entering the home through a rear window that may have been unlocked.

“One of the (neighbors) came around the block from behind and approached the guys and asked if they live here,” said David Graham. “They said ‘Yeah.’ The (neighbor) said ‘No you don’t,’ and he started chasing them down.”

One neighbor, Noel Welch, said she became suspicious after seeing the robbers. “I thought maybe they were selling something door to door, or cleaning carpets or something,” she said. “But I had just seen (Amy) leave a few minutes earlier.”

Police said the unidentified neighbor followed the getaway vehicle in his vehicle until the pursuit became too dangerous, as the vehicle ran a stop sign while speeding. Police caught the suspects about 20 minutes later near Palmer Park and Powers boulevards with information provided by the neighbor.

David Graham said he was at work during the incident, and his wife was shopping with their kids and some friends from out of town. Amy Graham said jewelry, two laptops and cash were taken, along with a safe containing personal information. Police said they recovered the property and the witnesses identified the suspects — Timothy Trujillo, 18, and four juveniles.

“We have an alarm system,” said David Graham. “That’s the funny thing. We hardly even use it. But maybe we will. We’ve talked about the gun thing, too.”

The Grahams said they’re glad no one was hurt, that their property was recovered and that they have such good neighbors.