HALLANDALE BEACH, FLA. (WSVN) - A South Florida rabbi away on vacation realized an uninvited guest made himself at home and even drank the his vodka before getting caught by police.
The homeowner, Rabbi Leibel Miller, said the burglar took full advantage of the empty house and even slept in his bed.
“The house was an empty house, and he felt free, as we say in Yiddish, hamish,” Miller said, referring to feeling comfortable. “He took my vodka, slept in my bed. This is a Goldilocks story if you ever heard one.”
Home surveillance video capture the scene in the early morning hours of May 19 as a Hallandale Beach Police officer responded to an alarm call.
Miller, who was in Hawaii for an insurance conference, could be heard saying “hello” via the Ring app.
“The reason that I answered was because we all believed it was a false alarm,” Miller said.
The alarm went off again the following morning, but police knew this time that it wasn’t a false alarm, so they began to check the premises, according to the surveillance video.
Inside, they found the burglar, who police later identified as Eric Rodriguez.
When Miller returned home, he said he noticed his gun was taken and a good portion of his vodka was missing. “And it was down to there when I came home,” he said pointing to the middle of the bottom. “So unless there’s mice drinking vodka in the house, it was him.”
The Hallandale Beach Police report does not mention the missing vodka but said they found Rodriguez inside the house with latex gloves.
The victim said this isn’t just a burglary but also a violation to his privacy. He said the burglar managed to enter his house through a back window.
“I’m wondering how the police didn’t notice the first time,” he said. “The second time he came, obviously it was his house. He had the keys to the house, keys to my car. He could do whatever he wants. It’s like he lived here.”
According to Miller, the suspect left his leather Guess jacket that he took off inside Miller’s vehicle.
Miller said his gun and costume jewelry are still missing. “He had some jewelry items in the pocket here of my wife,” Miller said holding the suspect’s jacket. “He had a few of my possessions, though not the things he took on the first night.”
He believes someone may have told Rodriguez that he would be out of town, which gave the subject peace of mind while staying inside the house. “He felt comfortable to do this because he had been informed that I was out of town,” Miller said, “so I would just say if there was any message in all this, make sure that people don’t know you’re out of town if you don’t have somebody in the house.”
Police are still investigating this case to see if Rodriguez is the same man who was in the house both nights. He remains behind bars and is being held on a probation violation.
Copyright 2024 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.