2 Burglaries In 1 Night At Same Hillsboro Home, Police Say

HILLSBORO, OR — After losing his classic convertible Mercedes in a burglary Thursday night, a Hillsboro homeowner found himself firing warning shots at a man attempting a second burglary at his residence early Friday — just a few hours after the first.

According to Hillsboro police spokesman Lt. Henry Reimann, officers responded to a home in the 6800-block of East Main Street around 8:30 p.m. Nov. 2 after the homeowner reported his home had been burglarized while he was out.

After shattering the windows on two rear doors of the home, the suspected burglar reportedly got away with the homeowner's 1969 Mercedes Benz 280 SLK. After filing his report with police, the homeowner covered the broken windows with plastic tarp.

Shortly before 3:30 a.m. Friday, Nov. 3, officers were called to the same residence after the homeowner reported a second burglary attempt.

Police said the homeowner heard noises coming from the back of his house where he'd put up the plastic. Arming himself with a handgun, the homeowner walked through the kitchen and discovered a 6-foot white man in dark clothing trying to cut through the plastic covering the kitchen door window that was broken earlier. The homeowner reportedly fired a warning shot and the suspected burglar ran off through the wetlands behind the house.

Though police used a K9 to help find the suspect, he was able to elude officers and remains at-large.

Reimann could not confirm whether the two burglaries were related.

Just after 6 a.m. Friday, a resident in the 450-block of Southeast 72nd Avenue called Hillsboro police to report finding the stolen Mercedes parked on the street outside his home — barely two blocks from where it was allegedly stolen.

The resident reportedly told police they noticed the Mercedes on Southeast 72nd Avenue the night before but didn't think anything of it until seeing the same car on the news Friday morning.

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