Neighbor Restrains Burglar Leaving Fairfield House: Police

FAIRFIELD, CT — A burglar in Fairfield was thwarted by the victims' neighbor, according to police.

Officers responded just before 2 p.m. Wednesday to a house in the 5000 block of Park Avenue after receiving a report of a burglary in progress, and arrested 70-year-old Robert Milton on burglary charges, with additional charges pending further investigation, police said.

Neighbors saw Milton ring the doorbell of the home, then walk to the back of the residence when no one answered, according to police, who said the owners were not present at the time, but that they were watching Milton on surveillance as he moved throughout the house.

The owners called a neighbor, who confronted Milton as he attempted to leave through a side door, police said. Milton pushed the neighbor and tried to flee through a wooded area at the back of the property, but the neighbor restrained Milton while his girlfriend called police, according to law enforcement.

Officers found a ladder up against the rear of the victims' house and signs of forced entry to a second-story window, police said, adding they also discovered a backpack filled with miscellaneous items from the home.

Milton is currently facing burglary, fraud, theft, larceny and trespassing charges in connection with four separate Fairfield incidents in the last year alone, according to court records. He is also charged in numerous cases out of other Fairfield County towns, including Trumbull and Stratford, court records said.