Midtown Sacramento Cat Burglar Nabbed By K-9 Officer

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — High fences and locks couldn't keep one burglar out of a midtown apartment complex.

"He climbed up, and he got in. He got into the lofts," said Yolanda Villanueva who lives next door.

It was a shocking sight for Villanueva who woke up to find a cat burglar scaling the wall.

"Still thinking about it, it gives me chills. I'm not one to get scared, but I was scared," she said.

A Sacramento police spokesman said it happened just before 5 a.m. Sunday on 18th and L streets. A resident on the third floor came face to face with the suspect in the Midtown apartment complex.

"This person is obviously clearly determined to do whatever it is he was doing. You wouldn't accidentally stumble onto a third-floor balcony," said Sgt. Matt McPhail with Sacramento Police.

Officers set up a large perimeter around the building searching for the suspect, but in the end, it was a police dog who caught the cat burglar.

"He was laying in the back of a pickup truck," he said.

Ivan Porter, 25, was picked up for the crime.

Unfortunately, balconies are a crime of opportunity that many bicycle owners also know all too well.

"If the bike is visible from down below they will take that," said Scott Meyer at the Natomas Bike Shop.

He said bikes are constantly being swiped from balconies.

"They're shocked that somebody would have the gall to climb up there and grab the bike, but like I said, [when the] opportunity arises people take it," he said.

While many residents across Sacramento are also hoping for that evening Delta breeze, neighbors have a word of warning.

"He said, 'Oh I'm on the sixth floor.' I told him, 'I don't think that matters anymore. If they want in they are going to get in,'" Villanueva said.

So no matter what floor you're on, take precaution.

"We recommend taking some safety precautions so that people can't take advantage of those windows been cracked in your home," McPhail said.

"We all got to start locking our doors and our sliding doors," Villanueva added.

The suspect was taken to the hospital and was being treated for a K-9 bite wound and will be charged with burglary.