ST. LOUIS — Apparently, the high visibility of a man's safety vest helped him burglarize a Lafayette Square house unnoticed until the owner came home to see what was missing.
"I opened the garage and I park, and then it hit me," recalled Dean Hand. "I got robbed."
More than $2,000 in tools and more, said Hand. Carted away from his garage on his bike by someone dressed to be seen but not stand out.
"People have that vest on, you don't think twice," said Hand of the bright orange safety vest with what appeared to be a company logo the suspect was wearing.
Hand's security cameras recorded the crime in broad daylight last Thursday while he and his wife happened to be gone at the same time.
The video shows the man in the vest climb a wall, get into the backyard, open the garage from the inside and just about clean it out.
"He just looks like any member of the crew. And that was what he was going for. He blended in," Hand said.
City police referred 5 On Your Side to their online database, but there were no specifics on any investigation or whether any arrests have been made.
"I know I'm not going to get my stuff back," Hand said.
He hopes others will see his story and not miss any signs that someone may be impersonating a utility worker.
"Especially if they're not at a site, walking down the street," Hand said.
"And, you know, people will say, 'Well, that's just city life in St. Louis.' But why is that acceptable?" asked Hand.
Hand said he saw the suspect the next day outside his house, called police and they tracked him down.
But he said police told him because they didn't see the suspect in the act, they'll have to investigate before any arrests can be made.