By Bruno Matarazzo Jr.
Staff writer
June 04, 2008 06:00 am MARBLEHEAD — It may have seemed like the perfect crime: Kick in a business's door in the middle of the night, grab something that looks expensive, and run. But police say a Revere man made a big error by burglarizing a business that specializes in high-tech home-monitoring products. HomeLogic Vice President Joe Lautner said motion-activated security cameras captured the entire break-in in their Hoods Lane office shortly after 3 a.m. Monday. "The irony is the guy decided to break into a place, and we've got technology wired all over the place, which, according to police, gave them enough to do a good job and get this guy off the street," Lautner said. HomeLogic, started by Marblehead residents Buddy Duncan and Jim Herman six years ago, sells Internet-based monitoring systems that can manage a house's heat, lighting, electronics and security controls. "We glue together all the things in your home," Lautner said of the company. HomeLogic has such a system in its office at 100 Hoods Lane, which boasts a security camera at the front door of the suite. A video released by HomeLogic shows a man with long hair, dressed in a red shirt, pressing his hands and face to the glass, and peering inside the locked office door. The man, identified by police as Francis Connor IV, 21, is then seen stepping back and kicking in the door after several attempts. He then walks around the office, turns on lights and later leaves with a package that is used by the company to demonstrate the key features of their products to potential customers. The office manager found the door kicked in when he arrived for work at 8:45 a.m. and called police. "We showed (the police) the video, and from that they were able to see all the things he touched," Lautner said. "They were able to lift prints from the glass because they knew exactly what he had touched." Hours after HomeLogic and another business reported the break-ins, police received a call at 11:43 a.m. of a man sleeping on the side of Lafayette Street by West Shore Drive. When police arrived, they matched the description to the man seen in the video recorded by HomeLogic. "The suspect voluntarily came into the police station, where he confessed to breaking into the businesses," a press release from Marblehead police said. Police were able to retrieve the stolen item, which Lautner said is in good shape. Connor faces four counts of breaking and entering in the nighttime to commit a felony, five counts of malicious destruction of property worth more than $250, two counts of larceny, possession of a dangerous weapon, and being a fugitive from justice in regard to a warrant for burglary out of San Diego.
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