FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) - A Fort Lauderdale homeowner is speaking out after a duo of burglars broke into his home last week.
Will Ruiz said he was out of town for the holidays when the burglary occurred.
“It hurts even deeper when you see somebody doing it live in front of you,” Ruiz said.
He said it all began when he received a Ring notification on his phone.
“I get an alert from my Ring app that some activity is happening inside the home,” said Ruiz.
He opened the app and watched his home, which he had bought and was working on, get burglarized in real-time.
“It’s one feeling just to have someone go through your house and break in and you find out later after the fact, but to see it live and you’re basically feeling helpless while someone’s taking stuff you’ve worked for,” said Ruiz.
Ruiz said the duo of burglars broke into his home through the back window. Initially, one of them was startled by the camera. The woman ran off but returned a few minutes later with a blanket to cover her face.
He said he did what he could to scare them away: yell into the camera.
“The cops are on their way, the cops are on their way, the cops are on their way,” Ruiz yelled to the burglars via Ring camera video.
But the female burglar, unfazed by the yelling, continued on her way inside his home.
She opened the front door of the home for a man who was waiting outside. He entered the home and they both started going through Ruiz’s items.
After a few minutes, the man dashed off with a $1,000 table saw.
But Ruiz said the man yelled back at him as he walked out of the home.
“While I was yelling at him, he said ‘F you’ to me,” he said. “So that was the big stab in the back right there. For you to say that to somebody it doesn’t matter to him.”
Ruiz walked 7News through his home on Monday evening.
“I couldn’t even believe what I saw,” he said. “Somebody is walking inside my kitchen, through my hallway. It could have possibly been a hammer that they used to break in. It hurt, because I work hard for my money.”
Due to the incident, Will said he might just give up on his vision on making this a family home.
“How sad is it that the house you worked so hard to make look nice has to be boarded up?” 7News’ Nicole Linsalata asked.
“It is actually really sad,” he said. “The main thing is feeling hurt that I didn’t harm anybody and this happened to me. It’s just not worth it. The juice isn’t worth the squeeze.”
The homeowner said that while he can buy another saw to finish the home project, he wants to see the duo locked up and off the streets.
He has also added that he’s currently hesitant to replace all the stolen gear for fear that it could get stolen again.
“Hope you get caught. You, obviously, this is not your first time in your whole life doing this. You definitely have done this before and you just haven’t gotten caught,” said Ruiz.
He said the burglars returned on Saturday to take a few more things so he has since boarded up all his windows and will install new cameras.
If you have any information on this home burglary, call the Fort Lauderdale Police Department at 954-828-5700 or Broward County Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS. Remember, you can always remain anonymous, and you may be eligible for a reward of up to $5,000.
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