Man watches robbery on cell phone; suspect caught

Steven Dial reports. 6/7/2016

Steven Dial, WTLV 10:31 PM. EST June 07, 2016

The suspect seen in Dixon's home. (Photo: Dixon)

JACKSONVILLE, Fla.—Imagine being at work and you get an alert on your phone about motion inside your home and then you watch as a burglar rummages through your belongings.That was reality for one Northside man as he watched a stranger steal his wife jewelry.

More and more people are putting surveillance cameras in and around their homes. Ronnie Dixon just bought his cameras 6 months ago. Then recently, he watched on his phone as a man was breaking in.

"This is the window that he busted through right here," said Ronnie Dixon.

It's something Dixon never expected to see.

"When I first looked I thought it may have been my son-in-law but I looked again and I said, I don't know this guy, then I shot out of the building."

He got an alert on his phone saying that someone was in his Northside home. In the video you can see a man walking into his bed room and other rooms taking whatever he could find.

"He got a piece of wood from the fire pit, busted the rear window, climbed through it and helped hisself to my wife jewelry."

He said after the burglary, members of the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office arrived to the house three minutes after the suspect, Carl Thornton walked out of the front door.

He said it was this shot that gave investigators the description they needed.

"As soon as he comes right here, he gives you the money shot where he stares right into the camera. Its almost like he knew the camera was here."

Despite him not being caught that day, Dixon put the video on social media and says everyone helped JSO make an arrest a week later.

Carl Thornton (Photo: JSO)  

Carl Eugene Thronton was arrested June 3 and charged with burglary to an unoccupied dwelling, jail records show. His bail is set at $75,003.

"Because of everyone out there, everyone helping JSO and JSO was in constant contact with me, then I get a text Friday saying we got him. That makes everything worth it, you cant put a price on that."

And Dixon has a word of advice for anyone with home surveillance.

"I have talked to Canery and they asked me, have you thought about removing the plastic film from the front of that camera? I came home and removed it, so I could imagine what the clarity would have looked like once we had that video."

Source: Man watches robbery on cell phone; suspect caught