BURRILLVILLE – A 39-year-old Burrillville man was arrested last week after he was seen naked in his neighbors’ yard allegedly trying to break into the home, and then tried to elude police.
Timothy Chase of 559 Mt. Pleasant Road was charged with obstructing an officer in the execution of his duty, resisting arrest, and disorderly conduct following the incident, which took place around 2:30 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 3.
Police arrived at the scene for a call of a possible break-in in progress and spotted a naked, barefoot man running toward another house on the street, according to reports.
As officers yelled for him to stop, Chase reportedly ran into a neighboring house, closing the door behind him. Police went into the home and saw Chase enter another room closing that door as well.
Officers forced entry and say they saw Chase still naked, crawling into bed, noting that it appeared as though he had attempted to block the door behind him with a chair and a large fan.
“He insisted that he had been sleeping and that he did nothing wrong,” the arrest report noted.
Police said a woman with three dogs then came downstairs and said that Chase was her son.
Chase put on clothes, but would not provide his name according to officers, and continued to insist he was not a problem.
The neighbors who had called the police, a man and woman ages 28 and 26, told officers that a friend had left their home at 12:45 a.m. but then called to tell them he saw a naked man running in their yard. They said they thought the friend was joking and didn’t investigate at the time.
Later, they said they heard noises as if someone was trying to enter their home through a window or the bulkhead, and told officers it sounded as though the person was trying each window on the house.
The female stated that on a previous day, she was sitting outside and saw Chase come out of the woods, and she asked him if he had seen her grey cat. She told police she was suspicious at the time because he was acting strangely.
Officers investigating the scene found a plastic milk crate that had reportedly been placed under a bathroom window, a kitchen window that had been opened, and footprints from a bare foot.
“It did not appear that Timothy intended to enter the residence, but was attempting to discreetly see inside for the purpose of sexual gratification,” Officer Vincente Baffoni wrote in the report.
Chase was held overnight and brought before a Bail Commissioner the following morning. He was later released on a summons to appear in 6th District Court at a later date.
