An intruder entered a northwest home early Thursday morning while a family slept inside and helped himself to a number of items. Now, thanks to surveillance video recorded at locations nearly 90 kilometres apart, the victims suspect the offender has made a habit of preying on neighbourhood homes.
On Thursday, November 30, an opportunistic thief took a garage door opener out of a vehicle parked in the driveway of the Valley Ridge residence and gained access to the home through the attached garage. Once inside, the suspect grabbed a number of the family’s possession and private documents before returning outside to sort through his ill-gotten loot. The suspect’s activity outside of the home was captured by a neighbour’s surveillance camera.
The Yar Khan family, including their four-year-old daughter, awoke hours later to discover their home had been robbed.
“It’s not just little items, it’s your identity,” said Nasim Yar Khan. “They have our social security numbers, our drivers licences, our passports. You name it.”
“I know he stole knives from my camping stuff in the garages
Nasim says it’s frightening how close the suspect was to his family. “If they didn’t get enough would they have come upstairs?”
Several of the stolen items were found discarded in a neighbour’s garbage can while others were strewn throughout their neighbourhood. Many of the family’s possessions have yet to be recovered.
Later that morning, the Yar Khans noticed one of their missing debit cards had been used to make a purchase at a convenience store in Canmore using the tap function. The family contacted the store and the 7-Eleven provided them with surveillance camera photos of the man who had used the card and confirmed he was driving a black sedan.
“The 7-Eleven workers said they recognized him,” said Melanie Yar Khan. “He was in often doing the same thing, using cards. He just uses the tap function multiple times to buy gift cards.”
The suspect and the black sedan are believed to be connected to a number of recent break-ins in the communities of Valley Ridge and Crestmont after the car was spotted near the scene of several robberies.
The Yark Khans have reported the break-in and purchases to RCMP and the Calgary Police Service. The family has installed a new security system in their home and placed posters throughout their neighbourhood in an attempt to protect others from falling victim to crimes of opportunity.
With files from CTV’s Alesia Fieldberg
