Police: Burglary suspect caught with obits in pocket

Police said a man accused of burglarizing a southwest Cedar Rapids house may have been ready to target homes where owners had just died.

Daryn S. Fennern, 44, of Hiawatha, was arrested when police caught him inside 1525 Eighth Ave. SW with tools they said he used in a burglary Wednesday afternoon. A neighbor who had been raking leaves noticed Fennern and called 911 after seeing broken glass near the back door.

Sgt. Cristy Hamblin said officers found a page of obituaries in Fennern's pocket when they made the arrest. She said one known tactic of burglars is to read obituaries to target the home of the deceased. While there wasn't any indication that Fennern was using the obituaries to target the house on Eighth Avenue SW, it's a reminder for families to monitor property there is a death, she said.

“Citizens should be cautious when they have a death in the family and have someone stay in the house,” Hamblin said. “We have not had a burglary to someone's home like that in years, but you can never be too sure about the bad guys.”

Hamblin said there was no indication in the police report about why Fennern had the obituaries.

Charged with third-degree burglary as a habitual offender and possession of burglary tools, Fennern remains in the Linn County Jail in lieu of $10,000 cash bail. The complaint said Fennern was carrying two pry bars and a small carryall bag when he was apprehended. He was charged as a habitual offender because of a March 2003 guilty plea to second-degree theft in Benton County and an April 2008 Linn County guilty plea to possession of a controlled substance.