Thief straps on helmet before taking off with bike

(STORY IMAGE:KHQ.COM; VIDEO: YouTube user Mark Harris)

SPOKANE, Wash. -A man on Spokane's South Hill went from car prowler to burglar and the whole thing was caught on camera early Wednesday morning.

The burglar first breaks into a car, grabs the garage door opener and lets himself in. All of it happening just feet away from where the homeowner was sleeping.

"I slept right through it, but luckily we have the video to tell the story," Mike Harris said.

A couple of years ago, after having a bike stolen, Harris installed cameras around his family's home.

"In extremely well-lit area in a very good neighborhood, you just don't expect it."

Around 2:30 Wednesday morning, those cameras caught a thief. First he tried the handle of his neighbor's SUV, which was locked. Then he tried Harris' car. Which unfortunately wasn't. Harris said he spent four minutes inside the car. And he was far from done.

"At that point he opened the garage," Harris said.

The thief spends nearly five minutes in the garage.

"My bike was over here next to the lawn mower. The second one was hidden behind my wife's van," Harris said.

Before leaving, the thief was apparently worried about his safety and decides to put on a bike helmet. In all, the thief was able to get away with the two bikes and some other things worth more than $1,500.

"It's just awful," Harris said. "But I suppose I'll laugh at it someday."

Harris says he's now looking at adding more cameras and a car alarm. But most importantly he says he will be locking his car from now on.


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