Crime novelist's security cameras catch hooded burglars climbing through brush below his home

A crime thriller novelist said it was like a scene out of his books when he saw hooded figures climbing through the brush below his home in a wealthy California neighborhood.

Lee Goldberg was relaxing with his wife and daughter at his home in Calabasas when the motion sensors around his property went off at about 9:30 p.m. on Thursday.

Instead of capturing a bobcat or coyote, he saw four men in hoodies and black gloves.

“They looked organized, they looked professional,” Goldberg told KTLA-TV.

Goldberg called the police, and the four men turned around and hiked back down where they came from. He believes that they saw him calling police.

“It’s very unsettling. It’s what I write about, this stuff, and I imagine it, but I don’t think it would happen to me,” he continued.

Although he was able to scare them off, a neighbor of his wasn't as lucky. The person didn't want to be identified publicly but said that their home had been burglarized on the same night and that they had lost thousands of dollars worth of jewelry and clothes. They showed KTLA their broken door and their ransacked closet.

Goldberg told KABC-TV that his daughter was terrified by the incident.

"She saw these guys crab-walking through the side of our hill, faceless, and she knew they meant bad things for us," he explained.

The victim told KTLA that police had said they had caught a suspect, but the LAPD was unwilling to confirm the information.

“What's unsettling also is we live in a gated community, and it gives you this false sense of security,” Goldberg added. “I think all you can do is try and be vigilant. I’m just glad I didn’t go outside and confront them, that was my instinct.”

Here's a local news report about the incident:

Author thwarts home invasion in Calabasaswww.youtube.com

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