Burglary victim watches hand come in through window
A Des Moines woman heard footsteps outside her bedroom shortly before 3:30 a.m. Tuesday and then watched as someone opened a window from the outside. A hand reached inside and parted the curtains.
Esmerelda Vallejo, 30, of the 1800 block of Capitol Avenue, screamed. She rolled out of bed and backed away from the window, police said.
The hand disappeared.
Vallejo called 911. When police arrived they found her visibly shaken. Her five children also were frightened.
Police found Hugo Alberto Fernandez-Suarez, 45, in the 300 block of East 19th Street.
An officer took one of Fernandez-Suarez's boots and compared it to footprints in the snow beneath Vallejo's window. The officer noted that the markings were similar. Crime scene technicians were called to process the window for fingerprints.
Police said, "Hugo offered no reasonable explanation for why he was in the area or walking from the opposite direction of his vehicle. Based on our observations we arrested Hugo Fernandez for attempted burglary second degree.
His precision instruments are lined up perfectly. There's not a speck of dust in sight, and his various cabinet drawers - which contain an abundance of mechanical watch pieces, such as tiny hands, crystal faces and leather straps - are carefully labelled to provide easy, organized access.
"I could talk about watches for hours," Griffiths says, as he carefully inspects an antique Swiss pocket watch he found on one of his various missions to a local antique shop. The watchmaker plans to restore the pocket watch's motor for use in one of his handcrafted wrist watches.
"I'm a bit obsessed. I realize it's not the same for other people. Most people just think 'god, what is wrong with this guy?' "
Griffiths, an industrial designer by trade, owns Barrington Griffiths Watch Co., a custom watch design and manufacturing company based in Calgary. He builds his creations around the antique Swiss movements he restores.
A Des Moines woman heard footsteps outside her bedroom shortly before 3:30 a.m. Tuesday and then watched as someone opened a window from the outside. A hand reached inside and parted the curtains.
Esmerelda Vallejo, 30, of the 1800 block of Capitol Avenue, screamed. She rolled out of bed and backed away from the window, police said.
The hand disappeared.
Vallejo called 911. When police arrived they found her visibly shaken. Her five children also were frightened.
Police found Hugo Alberto Fernandez-Suarez, 45, in the 300 block of East 19th Street.
An officer took one of Fernandez-Suarez's boots and compared it to footprints in the snow beneath Vallejo's window. The officer noted that the markings were similar. Crime scene technicians were called to process the window for fingerprints.
Police said, "Hugo offered no reasonable explanation for why he was in the area or walking from the opposite direction of his vehicle. Based on our observations we arrested Hugo Fernandez for attempted burglary second degree.
His precision instruments are lined up perfectly. There's not a speck of dust in sight, and his various cabinet drawers - which contain an abundance of mechanical watch pieces, such as tiny hands, crystal faces and leather straps - are carefully labelled to provide easy, organized access.
"I could talk about watches for hours," Griffiths says, as he carefully inspects an antique Swiss pocket watch he found on one of his various missions to a local antique shop. The watchmaker plans to restore the pocket watch's motor for use in one of his handcrafted wrist watches.
"I'm a bit obsessed. I realize it's not the same for other people. Most people just think 'god, what is wrong with this guy?' "
Griffiths, an industrial designer by trade, owns Barrington Griffiths Watch Co., a custom watch design and manufacturing company based in Calgary. He builds his creations around the antique Swiss movements he restores.