Woman shoves burglar out window

UMBILO resident Jennifer Harris was not giving in without a fight after a burglar broke into her room last Saturday night.

According to Harris, she had been watching movies on her laptop while lying in bed and had fallen asleep with both her bedside lamps on, and with her bedroom window slightly open.

“I am a very light sleeper, but I like to sleep with my window open a bit to have fresh air. Little did I know what was going to happen in my home, where I have lived for almost three years and have always felt so safe,” she said.

Jennifer said she had heard a hard heave and someone letting out their breath, and knew someone was in the room.

“I looked right into his face, he was on his haunches on my windowsill, and I started screaming blue murder! I jumped up as he got in, there's no use being timid otherwise you've had it. I knew I had to just attack, and he didn't expect this,” she said.

She said the man was going for her laptop which was on the bed, and things were falling off the bed, while she screamed and fought with him over the computer.

“It was like a blur, it happened so fast, but yet seemed like forever. I thought 'no, you're not getting that'! He got my purse out of my bag and then saw my external hard drive and swiped it. I went ballistic as I have everything on my hard drive. He went for the window and I grabbed him and held onto his hoodie by his ribs with my one arm, while I screamed. I told him 'you're not getting this, you're going down', but the whole time, he said nothing. I pushed him really hard and he fell, and I counted five yells of pain as he got to the ground,” she said.

Jennifer said she then picked up the phone, and in her confusion, started dialling 911!

“Look who is watching too many movies! I called 10111, and I got a very good response from Umbilo SAPS. I want to commend them for their quick response. The officers came and scouted the area and said he probably broke something in his fall. He thought he was just going to jump in, grab and go, little did he know what my reaction would be! I also found my hard drive, how lucky am I!” she said.

Jennifer said she was relieved she now had burglar guards in her room, as she had not slept more than two hours a night since the incident.

“I have been taping my window shut at night, just so I would hear if someone tried to open the window. I had such a sense of security and safety in my home. I had more crime in my house in Glenashley, so this took me by surprise,” she said.

She said the thief had used a garden chair to reach two unused aircon units, as well as her aircon unit, which formed a ladder to her window.

“There's also no lighting at the back of our buiding, it is very dark and this is unsafe. I plan to have lighting installed so there is a lot of light outside for the entire building's security,” she said.

Jennifer said she had opened a house breaking case at Umbilo SAPS, and the police had lifted a good set of finger prints from the window and her laptop, as well as DNA.

“Now the police just need to find him. He was light in complexion, had a longish face, was wearing a very thick brown hoodie, black pants and black takkies and seems to fit the description of a man who has been seen walking with a dog in the area,” she said.

She said she was covered in bruises, and more seemed to appear each day, but believed the thief was much worse off.