As a mother was at her 13-year-old son’s chemotherapy treatment, she learned two people were trying to break into her home.
The mom, from Louisville, Kentucky, said the Monday, July 24, attempted break-in happened after her husband’s truck was stolen from his work in nearby Jeffersonville, Indiana.
Security cameras at the home show one of the two suspects try to open a door, but he was unsuccessful. Amber O’Neil’s 15-year-old child and her dogs were inside.
“I was traumatized racing to my house (because) the 911 dispatch operator told me no one was available to help,” O’Neil said in a July 25 Facebook post. “I begged her for 20+ minutes to help. I arrived on scene at the same time (Louisville police) did. Thankfully they didn’t get in our house & my neighbor helped.”
They didn’t make it inside, but the two suspects gained entry into the garage. Police said they stole more than $1,000 worth of property, after having already stolen the truck the same day.
Officers identified them as Thomas Alexander and Sumer Browning, both 29. Police said in a citation the pair may have used registration paperwork in the truck to find the home.
“They’re bold,” O’Neil told WDRB. “Who would think, ‘I’m gonna steal your car and then go to your house within a matter of an hour.’”
The two were arrested after O’Neil shared video of the suspects on her Facebook page.
Jail records show Alexander and Browning were booked into the Louisville jail Wednesday afternoon. They were charged with receiving stolen property and third-degree burglary, records show.
O’Neil said their truck was recovered but was placed on a police hold.
The O’Neils’ 13-year-old son, Jeremiah, is undergoing treatment for Ewing sarcoma. The family has chronicled his journey on the Jeremiah’s Army group on Facebook.
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