A suspicious man seen lurking near a home on Mathewson Road late Monday night, June 2, sprinted away from police officers and eventually disappeared in the area of Melrose Avenue.
Police received a phone call from a Mathewson Road resident at about 11:20 p.m. on June 2; the resident said a man had been spotted going through a neighbor’s yard and checking out the house.
Officers responded to Mathewson Road and scoured the area, eventually spotting a man riding a bicycle on Owing Stone Road off Ferry Lane. Police pulled down that road and then saw the man — officers described him as being a white male with shaggy dark hair, wearing a dark gray hooded sweatshirt and dark jeans — trying to hide behind a bush.
The man took off running away from the police. He led officers toward Melrose Avenue and eventually shook free from his pursuers.
Two days later, police received a call from the Mathewson Road resident whose home the suspect had been seen in. The resident said he found cuts in a window screen where it appeared someone tried to gain access to the home’s interior.
That resident also told police that a bicycle had been stolen from the home’s garage — the same bike the man had been seen riding on June 2. The resident said a bike helmet had been left on the bike, but had been discarded by the suspect before he stole the bike. The resident offered police the helmet as a possible source of fingerprints.
In addition, the Mathewson Road resident told police he had seen a strange sight a few days before the incident. He said he had seen a man walking down the road pushing a baby stroller, but that there was no baby in the stroller. He said the man was wearing a baseball cap backwards.
Police are asking residents to keep an eye out for any suspicious activity in their neighborhoods and to call police at 437-3930.