LORAINE, Ill. (WGEM) — There is video of the moments a man tried to break into homes in Loraine, Illinois, Wednesday morning.
While deputies think they arrested the man in this video, neighbors said they are still shaken.
“He stuck his head through this first layer of glass right here,” Loraine resident Holly Eahmen said. “I remember, my stick was like outside the house, I was shoving it in his face, this metal rod.”
There is damage after Loraine resident Holly Eahmen said a man tried to break in her home Wednesday morning.
“I looked outside and saw this red, Jeep vehicle, pulled right up here, almost even with my porch,” Eahmen said.
She said she made sure the door was locked and went to the bedroom to look at the video through her Ring doorbell surveillance app.
“He’s beating on my door, trying the door handle,” Eahmen said.
Eahmen said her husband had left work, leaving her in the house with her three young children.
“I ran through the kitchen, grabbed by weapon of choice real quick,
Eahmen said. “He was sticking his head in through the first set of windows there. I’m pointing my weapon at him. I’m screaming and yelling.”
Eahmen’s mother lives right next door.
“My mom had texted me, she said, who’s out there? I said I don’t know, help,” Eahmen said.
That’s when the man left and went to her mother, Cathy Walsh’s home.
“I was standing at the door,” Walsh said. “When he came up to the door, I knew something was wrong.”
Walsh said she announced she was calling 911 and he left. But, she said not before he moved a brick that was on the ground.
“I did not know that brick was there the whole time,” Walsh said. “That kind of made me sick.”
Eahmen said while she was on the phone with police, the man drove away.
“I said, oh my gosh he just went to my neighbors house,” Eahmen said. “The 911 operator said who is that? I gave them their names, she said well they’re calling in now. I said oh my, what did he do over there!”
“I turned the light on and he had pried my screen out and was trying to pry my window up,” Loraine resident Ralph Gallaher said.
He said the man again, drove away.
That’s when police said they found his car and found him in a nearby home in Loraine.
“I don’t know what I would have done if they didn’t catch him,” Eahmen said. “I would not be able to sleep. It’s not normal yet.”
The sheriff’s office reported that Altgilbers was charged with the following:
Criminal Trespass to Residence
Criminal Damage to Property
Disorderly Conduct
Criminal Trespass to Vehicle
Driving While License Revoked
