Babysitter thwarts home invasion

Confronted by an intruder inside the Gray Street home where she was babysitting, Cassandra LeGroulx, 15, didn’t hesitate.

“I told him to get out,” the slight Chatham-Kent Secondary School student said. “He told me it was all right, that he was there because he was supposed to get some stuff but since he came in the kitchen window I didn’t believe anything he said.”

Cassandra said she was sitting Sarah McFadden-Bellmore’s children, Faith, 10, and Brennan, 6, around 6 p.m. when she heard the noise in the kitchen and went to investigate.

“I was kind of shocked to see him standing there, but I didn’t have time to be afraid,” she said. “Afterwards, it sunk in what had happened, and I had to ask myself if it was real.”

The intruder tried to leave through the back door but it had been too badly damaged as he had tried to smash the locks to let in an accomplice.

“He couldn’t get out the back so he asked me if he could leave by the front. I told him to go.”

McFadden-Bellmore was at work at the time, and Cassandra began calling her work and cell numbers. Within five minutes, police arrived at the Gray Street home.

“Cassandra was able to give them a really good description of the guy and he was caught that night,” McFadden-Bellmore said.

The kitchen window is eight feet off the ground, she said. She believes the person charged was given a boost by an accomplice to reach it.

She said it was a crime of opportunity since there was no vehicle in her driveway and there weren’t a lot of lights on.

“I believe the thief thought no one was home. I heard he broke into another house down the street, but hasn’t been charged with that yet.”

She said it’s the third break and enter at the home during the last year, and she’s had enough.

“We’ve moving out of the city,” she said. “Children should be able to feel safe at their home, but they can’t feel safe here anymore.”

She said both her children have had difficulty sleeping since the incident.

McFadden-Bellmore praised the police.

“They were really nice to the kids, and Brennan’s talking about being a policeman now because he wants to catch bad guys.”

She said she believes the break-ins are the result of people trying to feed their drug habits.

“I’ve had flat screen TV’s stolen, my camera taken … anything they can get a few dollars for they’ll grab.”

She said thieves should be kept in jail until they’ve had enough time to kick their drug habits, but it doesn’t happen.

“It’s like a revolving door,” she said. “Police catch these people and they’re back out on the street stealing for drugs. It’s the only life they know.”

As for Cassandra, once the excitement wore off, there was “a lot of texting” with friends through the night.

“Lots of people told me they were proud of me but at the time I just didn’t think of it. I slept pretty well.”