Charlotte’s Top Burglar Reveals All
CHARLOTTE, N.C.
The most prolific home burglar in the history of Charlotte, N.C., has revealed all his secrets to police, which plans to pass along that information to the public. The burglar’s secrets that led to his being able to break into and rob more than 600 Charlotte homes in the 1980s and 1990s will be broadcast on the city’s cable government channel.
Anthony Ferguson confessed to his burglaries after he was caught in 1999. As part of a plea bargain, and to ensure such a burglary spree can be prevented in the future, Ferguson has spent days of time talking to police about his methods according to the Charlotte Observer.
Posing as a gardener, Ferguson says he would rob middle to upper-class neighborhoods mostly during the day, saying the hours between 8 and 11 a.m. were best. He says he especially liked rainy days because on those days, people are in a hurry to get out and more likely to forget locking their doors or activating their alarm system.
In fact, Ferguson said he especially liked to target homes with alarm systems because he says residents left them off half the time, adding to the importance of installers to tell their customers to not only have a system installed, but use it.
Ferguson says in the tape to be broadcast that faulty installation methods also helped him along. He says a chronic installation mistake was putting the control panel near the window, allowing Ferguson or another criminal to see whether it is activated or not. Ferguson also says most two-story homes with systems aren’t alarmed on the second floor, allowing him to enter from there.
However, if the alarm installer and user did their part, Ferguson says systems were affected, adding that anytime an alarm went off as he entered, he would flee immediately.
The video, “Confessions of a Burglar,” will be broadcast on The Government Channel – Channel 16 – starting this week in Charlotte.
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