On an early Christmas morning that was more noir than noël, a Pinellas County family was startled awake not by the sounds of reindeer hooves but by a Ring camera alert. A would-be intruder was captured prowling at their doorstep, undoubtedly seeking more than just holiday cheer. The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office shared the incident in a social media post, which they detail, “After attempting to gain entry through the locked front door, the suspect fled.”
Thanks to the timely arrival of Deputy Whidby and the keen senses of K-9 Gunther, a pursuit was swiftly underway. With the suspect attempting an escape on a bicycle, their efforts were cut short by the overhead vigilance of ‘the Eagle’—law enforcement’s eye in the sky. The deputies quickly apprehended the suspect, who had just arrived, not long after they had pedaled away. According to the Facebook post by the Sheriff’s Office, the aerial unit “Unfortunately for the suspect, the Eagle had just arrived in the area and acquired them quickly…”
The night’s events did not end with that solitary transgression. As deputies continued their investigation, it was revealed that the neighborhood had experienced more than just one unwelcome visitor. “Following the arrest, deputies conducting a neighborhood canvas discovered the suspect had stolen a package from another residence and burglarized two unlocked vehicles,” the social media account disclosed. It seems that the suspect, laden with holiday opportunism, didn’t limit their ill-will to one household…