Break-in busted

Two would-be burglars picked the wrong house to break into early Thursday morning.

Retired police officer Peter Toohey said he and his wife Dona were sleeping on the second floor of their two-storey home at about 4 a.m., when they were awoken abruptly by loud noise emanating from the back of their house.

Seventy-four-year-old Peter Toohey, who left the city police force in 1992, said he slipped on his well-worn Crocs, grabbed a five-cell flashlight and went downstairs to investigate, after determining it wasn’t someone outside operating a snowblower.

He discovered windows in his back door and storm door had been smashed in, and an alleged intruder was reaching through to open the door and come in the house.

“I took a swipe at him and hollered and they jumped off the stoop and ran north in the lane. I opened the door after them … One party fell into the deep snow, so I was able to apprehend that person. It turned out to be a woman,” Toohey said, all but back to his regular routine on Thursday afternoon, a fresh loaf of cinnamon swirl bread baking in the oven for his grandchildren in Oregon.

“She had two recycling bags, so they obviously came prepared to carry things away. The other person kept going down the lane and she was hollering at him to come back and help. But he continued. So I dragged her, wrestled her until I got her back up on the stoop.”

Dona Toohey was on the phone immediately, dialing 911.

Within seconds the police were at the door, Peter Toohey said.

“One officer came to the back and was assisted by another and they put the cuffs on her. One of their other units picked up the other party, just down the street from here,” said Toohey, who trained current police chief Bob Herman to take over as watch commander before retiring two decades ago.

Police took a 31-year-old man and woman into custody. They charged the woman, who they did not name, with break and enter, while the male suspect, also unnamed, was charged with break and enter and breach of probation.

Peter Toohey said it probably wasn’t the smartest thing for him to chase after the suspects, and wouldn’t recommend it to others, but said he used his police background to assess the threat level and those old instincts came rushing back.

“It turned out nice, that’s the main thing,” said the grandfather of eight. 

“Under the circumstances there are some people our ages around here that maybe aren’t physically as able. But thankfully (the suspects) didn’t go into their house, as opposed to trying to get into our house.”

He added he’s not surprised at the amount of crime the city is facing these days, saying he thinks there a morality problem among the city’s younger generations that must be dealt with.

This also isn’t the first time the Toohey’s have foiled a break-and-enter candidate.

A number of years ago, after arriving home late after working on sexual assault case, Peter Toohey said he was unwinding in the dark when he heard a noise out back. Upon further investigation he found a burglar climbing his ladder, with the intent of entering the house through an upstairs window.

“Needless to say the ladder came out from under him. He was happy to see the police that night, because I wasn’t too kind to him.”

Both suspects appeared in court on Thursday morning.