ROCK ISLAND, Illinois-- A Rock Island man has had to find out the hard way that your belongings aren't always safe tucked away in your garage. Chuck Gillespie has had two garage break-ins in the last six months. But the second time around, he managed to scare them off without even leaving his home Wednesday morning.
After a break-in in August 2018, Gillespie installed a security camera inside his garage. And it was enough to send the second set of intruders running. In the video, you see them notice the camera before running out of the garage.
"That camera saved us hundreds of thousands of dollars," he says, "because they saw it and took off. They didn't take anything."
In the video, two men rustle through a car and toolbox, looking for things to steal.
"It's disturbing that someone is in your things and have that kind of mindset to go through your property," Gillespie says.
Gillespie says he called the police and is working to file a police report in hopes of identifying the men.
"I'm glad that we have this on video," he says. "It may help. It may not. Now we know how they go about doing things."
And Gillespie thinks he knows how they broke in this time. He says he normally locks his pick-up outside at night but thinks he left it unlocked Tuesday night. He says the intruders probably took the garage door opener from that car to get inside the garage.
"I just want to get the word out. Be cautious and secure your vehicles," Gillespie says.
Back in August, Gillespie says he left the garage windows open and the thieves that time were able to cut open the window screen to get inside.
For now, he hopes to catch the latest intruders. If you have any information, call Rock Island Police at 309-732-2677.