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NORWALK, Conn. Two Massachusetts men were charged with breaking into a Norwalk house on Sunday after police reportedly caught them in the act.
Police received a call at around 6:45 p.m. from a neighbor saying there was people parked in the driveway of a Pershing Street home. The neighbor added that one of them had bolt cutters.
When police arrived they found the back door and its frame damaged and that the door appeared to have been forced open. Officers reported hearing movement inside the house. When they went in, the living room was in disarray, and there were two men in the kitchen, which was also in disarray, they said. There was a large pair of gardening sheers on the floor, police said.
One of the men, Scott Paakki, 37, of Gardner, Mass., told police he mows the lawn for the people who live in the house and was supposed to check on the inside. He said he had a key to the front door but the key he had in his pocket did not match any of the doors in the house, police said.
According to police reports, Paakki said he had come into the house to find his wallet, and brought flashlights along to look for it. Police said all the lights in the house were working.
Paakki and Timothy Bernat, 32, also of Gardner, were charged with third-degree burglary, conspiracy to commit burglary and second-degree criminal mischief, all felonies, as well as third-degree criminal trespassing and possession of burglars tools, both misdemeanors.
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