Winter Break-ins | Video

Van Tieu | 1/20/2013

Every year, Ron Plante parks his RV in the off-season without problem, but he recently got a call from police that no owner wants to hear. "I found out last night that homeless people had broken in and were living there," he said. "I never even expected anything like this. Never even thought about it."

Construction workers notified police when they saw a man near several campers yesterday. After Sergeant Jesse Hellman noticed broken glass on the door, he found the man in the RV. "He was cold, looking for a warm place to sleep or hang out.”

It`s uncertain how long the man was staying here, but he did leave evidence, like beer cans in the cabinets. He also used the bathroom, leaving a pungent odor lingering in the motor home. "The toilet is full, there`s a garbage can full of urine in the bathroom. And it smells like smoke. "

Hellman says during winter, the police department gets more reports of break-ins, but not as many in years past. "Times have changed," he said. "And now we got more people coming to our state, and we`ll see a lot more of it. That`s what I`ve been pushing. You need to check your property. Check it routinely so if anyone has broken into it, we can put a stop to it before it gets too bad."

Plante last checked on his RV last fall, and now as he cleans up and assesses the damage he says, "You live and you learn. It`s disgusting. I mean, I feel sorry for the people, but it`s not right to be breaking into places either."

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