Westchester homeowner chases down homeless man accused of burglary

GREENBURGH (WABC) -- Police in Westchester County have arrested a homeless man on burglary charges after he allegedly broke into a home in Greenburgh.

The quiet Hartsdale street lined with opulent homes was anything but peaceful when police say 20-year-old Brian Mitchell tried to burglarize a house, but was interrupted by the homeowner Sunday just before noon.

"I saw a policeman outside so I went outside and I said, 'Mary what's going on?' and she said 'Well, I got robbed,'" said Reit Reid, a neighbor.

Mary's husband confronted Mitchell, who police say was hiding in a closet.

"He's a particularly brave person, he wasn't afraid of him being armed or having a gun with him," a neighbor said.

Mitchell claimed to be with workers outside the home.

"He said, 'Oh well, I work in the back. I just had to go to the bathroom and I thought I'll just have a quick bite to eat.' And he said, 'Well let's go in the back and see if you belong to that group.' And of course as soon as he heard that, he ran fast as he could, so Mark ran after him," Reid said.

Mitchell didn't get far. The homeowner chased him down a hill to the gas station, where some people who happened to be walking by helped hold him down until police arrived.

"I don't know if he screamed, 'Catch the guy, catch the guy,' but they caught him right there at the gas station and the jewelry was with him, he stole a lot of jewelry," Reid said.

But this wasn't the first home he hit. Police say Mitchell hit up others that morning and was caught in the act.

Police say the homeless man fled a house in Scarsdale, just a third of a mile away, when the residents walked in.

Investigators are also looking to see if Mitchell could be connected to a string of home invasions and burglaries 10 miles south in Bronxville where another man was arrested after he was found hiding in the backyard of a home.

But so far, no one has been charged for the Bronxville incidents.

Residents are wondering if Mitchell got there using the Metro-North Railroad since the tracks stop right there in the middle of where both homes are located that were recently broken into.

No one was hurt in the incident.