Families in an Escondido neighborhood say they're taking extra precautions after a string of break-ins.
But some new technology may have exposed the burglar.
A man who police say is a person of interest rang the doorbell on Amy Taylor's Escondido door earlier this week. Nobody was home, but it certainly seemed that way when a man's voice came out of a speaker attached to the doorbell.
"Can I help you?" the voice said.
"Yes is this the Robinson residence at 712?"
The answer was no to both, the voice in the speaker said.
"Oh, I apologize for that," the man at the door said, and walked away.
But the man wasn't wasn't really sorry at all. He knew he was wrong all along. Police say he may have been trying to find out if anyone was on the other side of the door, so he could break in.
"There was a ring and my husband answered the ring from where he was working and talked to the gentleman through his phone, and I think the person thought he was home," Taylor said.
Nobody was home, but it was enough to fool him. Taylor's husband spoke to the man through a doorbell device called Ring.
"We know if there's any strange activity at our house," Taylor said.
Police say a man with a similar description - thin with a blue shirt - broke into another house on Mockingbird Lane less than an hour later. He came face to face with a contractor working inside. The suspect was armed, but ran out and sped away in a silver Ford Explorer.
Police still haven't found him. They expect to release more information next week.
"We like to sleep with the doors open in the evenings, so it's nice and cool, but now we're closing the door so we can turn on the alarm," said John Boyle, who lives in the neighborhood.
Now, the person in the doorbell camera's picture is all over social media - something he may truly end up being sorry about.
