Suspects Caught On Camera Stealing Money From 4-Year-Old's Piggy Bank, Philadelphia Police Say
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Philadelphia police are searching for suspects who were caught on camera stealing money from a 4-year-old's piggy bank inside a home in the Northern Liberties section of the city. Security video shows two men who made their way into a home on Thursday morning.
It happened while a family of three, including a small child, were asleep. Investigators say the men were apparently after money.
Video shows a burglar wielding around a flashlight inside the home around 2:45 a.m. He is seen stumbling across the child's piggy bank and seeing if there's money inside.
The burglar hears the change rattle as it appears he takes money out of it.
"I was shocked," Jordana Astrologo said.
Astrologo, her boyfriend and her son were sleeping upstairs at the time, not knowing two burglars were downstairs in her kitchen.
Later in the morning she noticed the room in disarray. She checked her security camera and found the unknown men in her home. One of the men was wiping his fingerprints off the piggy bank.
"You know you're doing something wrong," Astrologo said.
The piggy bank belongs to her 4-year-old son, who was saving for a trip to Dave and Buster's. She's not sure how much of her little boy's money was taken.
"It's really disturbing," Astrologo said.
Neighbor Keith Mitchell said he recently noticed his screen was tampered on Fairmount Avenue so he also looked at his security system. He found a man who resembled the piggy-bank burglar.
"He might have had the same features as the guy who was trying to get into my house," Mitchell said.
A third neighbor said a similar looking man broke into her house back in May. Philadelphia police could not say if the three incidents are related, but officers say it's a good idea to put extra lighting in all points of entry in your home to deter criminals.
"Whether its front-door, back-door window, wherever you think it's a point of entry, have it lit up," Philadelphia Police Capt. Sekou Kinebrew said. "Hopefully the person will lose interest in committing that type of crime."
Police also say it's a good idea to have lights that automatically turn on when it senses movement because it could confuse a burglar thinking there's people inside.
