Elderly Cedar Rapids woman scares off burglar

A Cedar Rapids woman scared off a burglar Tuesday night in her home. It's a crime that has police very concerned.

Police say they investigate nearly 100 burglaries a month in Cedar Rapids. However, Sgt. Joe Clark with the Cedar Rapids Police Department says what makes this crime concerning is that most of burglaries happen when no one is home.

While the intruder took Ozella Hoffman off guard, she said he didn't scare her.

"I'll tell you I'm not scared, but it wasn't fun last night," said the elderly woman in her 80's.

The burglar went in through a side door and even took out the bulbs in the flood light to keep from being noticed. However, when he kicked in the door, he made so much noise that Ozella knew something was up.

"I heard that crash at the door, but I didn't even know it was my door, I thought it was the neighbors door," said Ozella.

When she saw a flashlight inside, she got up and went down this hallway.

"He didn't get a chance to get out and run to the door cause I came down the hallway and I hollered and I yelled," said Ozella.

When that didn't work she grabbed the phone and tried calling 9-1-1, without any lights on and her mind buzzing, she tripped over the numbers a bit before connecting.

"She said you stay in your home, lock the doors and don't open any doors until we get there. Well, I was locked in with him, I didn't know he was here," said Ozella.

As soon as she yelled she had called police, the burglar broke this screen and went out the window, empty-handed. Moments later, police arrived.

Clark said if you think there is an intruder in your house, you should call police, stay in the room and lock the door. He said too often burglars get spooked or startled and end up hurting the homeowner.

Police took fingerprints, but haven't made any arrests in this case.

Justin Foss, KCRG-TV