MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A Memphis woman is still shaken up after she says she found a burglar hiding in her closet.
She says it happened around 6 a.m., when her daughter woke her up claiming someone was in their Raleigh home on Winter Cove. The ordeal was so upsetting the woman prefers not to be identified.
“It was a very difficult situation to be in,” she said.
She says she searched the house and found a man hiding in one of her closets.
“He was just caught,” she said, “He seemed really scared. He was like ‘I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.'”
She says he was unarmed, didn’t take anything and looked no older than 23 years old. So, she simply asked him to leave.
“He just let me walk him out of the house,” she said, “I’m just grateful that he didn’t have any weapons and he didn’t try to fight or hurt me.”
Police arrived minutes later and claim officers were told the man also tried to assault someone inside the home. Investigators haven’t provided any details on that. It’s an incident the homeowner is still trying to cope with.
“I don’t really want to discuss that,” she said.
The break-in happened June 1, but police just posted a picture of a suspect on social media Tuesday.
“I was exhausted that night, and I made a mistake and forgot to make sure my door was secure,” the woman said.
As for that man, she has this to say.
“[He’s] probably desperate. Poverty is a thing, like, I don’t look at all criminals as just bad people. I look at them as people who are going through things,” she said, “I don’t like what happened, but at the same time, I know that there’s a root to everything.”
If you know anything about this case, please call Crime Stoppers at 901-528-CASH.