Police in Niagara Falls, NY apprehended a suspect alleged to be a prolific video game thief who has been terrorizing the city's residents for months. The suspect, who has been nicknamed the "creeper" by locals, has been breaking into houses in the DeVeaux area of the city.

Since December 2018, Niagara Falls residents living between the 2700-2900 blocks of McKoon Avenue say that a strange man has been coming into their homes, stealing their belongings and, in some cases, watching them in the middle of the night. The suspect is accused of entering the homes through the window and stealing money, food, and video games consoles from residents in the area. This isn't the first time that a food and games console thief has hit the news, but it's strange to hear that the thief also watched people sleeping.

One affected family, the Mortons, say that they came home one day and found their doors open and heard someone moving about upstairs. "Having some creep come into your house wears on you at night when you have kids and a pregnant wife," said Mark Morton Jr. Amanda Morton also said that she is scared and that "Who's to say he won't escalate and try to do something even with my husband in bed next to me?" Police also said that the suspect has been spotted sitting in people's homes while people are asleep. The problem became so bad that some Niagara University students, who live in rental properties in the DeVeaux area, have moved out because of it.

Police were able to make an arrest in the case, however. The fingerprints from one of the burglaries brought the police to Eriq Santiago, 22. Santiago was approached by officers while riding a bike on Main Street, where he then confirmed his identity and was taken into custody.

There have been many other reports about video game thieves around the United States. In one case, a thief in Oklahoma stole a Nintendo Switch from a hotel room while the child it belonged to was in surgery. The suspect was caught on surveillance camera footage from the hotel.

In another dramatic case, an 11 year old boy fought off a would-be video game thief by using a machete. The boy left the thief with injuries so bad that he had to go to hospital, something which led the police to arrest him.

None of these thieves were as foolish as the Nintendo Switch thief who stole a console from a home with surveillance cameras in daylight, while wearing his work clothes, though. However, it does show that when a crime has been committed, the law is rarely far behind.

Source: WKBW