South Windsor Father Wakes Up to Find Armed Burglar Outside of Bedroom

A South Windsor father interrupted an overnight burglary Sunday at his home when he found a man with a gun outside of his bedroom, while his two children were sleeping, and police soon arrested the suspect who had fled from the house.

Police have charged Robert Cummings, 50, of 509 Burnside Avenue, East Hartford, with the home invasion and investigators are comparing evidence to this case to see if it is connected to a burglary from earlier this month when a Twin Circle Drive resident found a burglary suspect in her kitchen, according to Deputy Chief Scott Custer.

In the most recent break-in, police responded to Chapel Road near Main Street at about 2 a.m. on Sept. 27. Custer said the homeowner was home with his two children and woke to find the suspect standing in the hallway near his bedroom, holding a gun.

Also see: South Windsor Woman Interrupts Home Burglary

The suspect fled from the house after being confronted by the homeowner. Officers quickly responded to the area and began to search for the suspect.

The officers located a moped in the victim’s yard they believed belonged to the suspect and disabled it, according to Custer.

A K-9 team from East Hartford Police responded and after short time officers located a suspect nearby. The suspect had removed his sweatshirt, hood/mask, and dropped them with a flashlight and his loaded handgun in a nearby yard.

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Custer said the gun was found to have been stolen during a burglary in another town.

“This was outstanding work done by our midnight shift patrol officers who quickly responded to a report of an armed suspect, set up a perimeter, and ultimately captured the suspect with no injury to anyone involved,” Custer said. “We are proud of the work our officers do every day and clearly their training and dedication to the safety of our residents is illustrated here. Nighttime residential burglaries are rare in town, particularly those by an armed individual. We are pleased that this suspect was arrested before a confrontation led to a homeowner being injured.”

Cummings was charged with home invasion, criminal possession of a firearm, carrying a pistol without a permit, first-degree reckless endangerment, two counts of risk of injury to a minor, fifth-degree larceny and criminal attempt to commit sixth-degree larceny.

Cummings is being held on a $200,000 surety bond and will be presented at Manchester Superior Court on Monday, Sept. 28.

Robert Cummings, 50, of East Hartford

South Windsor Police Department photo