Attorney's office declines to prosecute doggy door break-in, but reconsiders
A woman says a man broke into her house through her doggy door, but was shocked to hear the attorney's office wouldn't prosecute the case.
(FOX 9) - A woman says she watched on surveillance camera as a man entered her home through her doggy door, but was baffled when prosecutors initially declined to take on the case.
The woman says she called police after seeing the entry. Police found the man inside the home, called him out and arrested him for burglary.
A few days later, however, the woman got a call that she never expected. The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office said it would not prosecute the suspect.
"I was just scared," the woman said. "And the rationale I was given for why they wouldn’t prosecute was it’s not breaking and entering to go through a doggie door. He didn’t steal anything and no one was home."
She took her complaints to Twitter and received a call from the county hours later saying they decided to prosecute the case.
In a statement, the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office said the following:
When our office declines or defers a case, it is not unusual for a victim or law enforcement investigator to request that our office revisit the decision based on existing or additional evidence. We are in the process of reviewing the case and have determined that we will issue a criminal complaint soon.
It is not clear why the Hennepin County Attorney initially declined to prosecute. The homeowner says she had a meeting with the prosecutor who made the decision set for tomorrow.