JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A woman recorded cellphone video of a burglar leaving a home he broke into earlier this month, and Jacksonville police are asking for the public's help in identifying him.
Police were called to the burglary in the 5700 block of South Cedar Forest Drive on the Westside at 11:10 a.m. April 18.
Officers said the alert neighbor heard glass breaking at the house next door, and she grabbed her cellphone to capture video and waited for the burglar to leave.
"We heard a noise -- shattering. When that happened, I noticed someone in the neighbor's house and they were breaking in," said the woman, who wishes to remain anonymous. "So I ran out the back door and told my dad to call 911."
The woman said in hindsight she can't believe she shot the video and that police were very happy to see it when they arrived.
"Whenever they approached they tried to get a description and I was like, 'Well, you can probably get a better description from the video I took,'" she said. "They were quite excited."
Dennis Mills lives in the house that was broken into. He said boards still cover the window that were broken.
"My level of guard has gone up," said Mills.
The theft happened on Good Friday around 11 a.m. The residents said the crook got away with a Kindle Fire and a PlayStation 3.
The man was seen crawling out the rear window, hopped a fence and walked toward Blanding Boulevard.
Anyone with any information about the burglar's identity is asked to call the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office at 904-630-0500 or Crime Stoppers at 866-845-TIPS.