Suspects caught in attempted burglary in Northeast Columbia

COLUMBIA, Mo-The Columbia Police Department responded to a call that two men were trying to kick in a front door of a home in the 2800 block of Shingo Court.

Police arrived quickly on the scene where they saw the two men walking down the street and apprehended them quickly. They brought them in and are being questioned.

An alert neighbor noticed that the two men looked suspicious in the area, circling houses and darting behind them if a car drove by. He went inside his house to take a phone call, when he saw the the two men ring a doorbell of a house across the street. When no one answered, they both attempted to kick the front door in.

The Boone County Sheriffs Department says burglars can notice small things about the exterior of a house that alerts them that no one is home. Something as small as newspapers being left on the driveway is a sign.

Just houses down from where the attempted break in happened, a garage door was open to all. Boone County Detective Tom O’Sullivan said, “I cringe when I drive through some of these subdivisions that I see garage doors left open and the people have gone to the store or they leave them open all day, that’s an invitation to a burglar…an open garage door.”

O’Sullivan says leaving an unused vehicle on the driveway when a resident is away is a great way to ward off unwanted visitors.

Police were grateful for the alert neighbor and want to remind others that if they notice anything suspicious to contact them immediately.