Doorbell cam thwarts burglary

A Santa Cruz man says he has technology to thank for keeping a burglar from breaking into his home.

David Knox is the Santa Cruz man whose home was almost broken into. “Almost” being the keyword because Knox was able to confront the burglar from miles away through his smartphone.

“It’s paid for itself.” Knox says about his home security systems.

While at work recently, he got an alert on his smartphone that someone was at his front door.

Ring, a doorbell camera was what allowed David to see the suspect attempting to get in his house. Through his smartphone, Knox spoke to him from his job in San Jose and asked him to leave the property.

David immediately posted pictures from the video to the social media app Nextdoor to alert his other neighbors.

After that, the suspect then made his way to a home just a few houses up the street from David’s. This time he did break into the house and the homeowners were home.

They quickly called the Santa Cruz Police Department who got to the house in minutes. They were able to catch the suspect in the act.

The owner of the house did not wish to be on camera but said it was an experience she and her husband have learned from.

“We’ve definitely learned that we need to put locks on all our gates, front and back gates to our house. We already had cameras posted but we didn’t have them on that morning when he broke in.”

David says that though he knows technology isn’t fool-proof, he’s grateful for what it gives him.

“The fact that technology allows me to feel more comfortable while I’m away and then also use things like Nextdoor to be able to connect with the neighbors that I don’t see on a regular basis so we can all kind of keep a virtual watch on each other’s houses.”

As for the man caught on camera, he was booked by the Santa Cruz Police Department on two counts residential burglary.