OAKLAND — An Oakland couple had their front door smashed in Tuesday night by a Minnesota man who immediately hid in their bathroom, police and the couple said.
One of the homeowners, who declined to give her name, lives with her family in the home on the 4500 block of South Oakenwald Avenue and described a white man with a beard wearing blue jeans and a jacket breaking out the window of her front door and diving through the broken glass at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday night.
She said once he got into the house, he pulled out a cell phone and claimed people were chasing him.
She said she and her husband demanded the man leave, but instead he ducked into their first floor bathroom and locked the door. She said she and two neighbors who rushed to help could hear him in the bathroom trying to get out a sealed window, but she said he didn’t say anything until University of Chicago police arrived five minutes later.
Police identified the man as Jacob Barth, 32, of Winstead, Minn., a town of a little more than 2,200 people 40 miles west of Minneapolis. He has been charged with misdemeanors for trespassing and criminal damage to property.
The woman said it didn’t seem like he was trying to rob them and he quickly surrendered to police, who she said found on him a large wad of cash and a passport.
“He said, ‘I’m sorry for scaring you guys,’” the woman said.
She said it didn’t appear like anyone was chasing him and she wondered if the man had a medical issue or was under the influence.
She said she’s happy no one in her family got hurt and but is still left wondering why Barth allegedly jumped through the window of her front door.