‘Gate Greaser' Caught on Cam in Santee

Some Santee homeowners don't know what to make of the suspicious man seen on security video spraying grease on their front gates.

Is it an act of kindness or something more sinister?

If the intruder wished to walk the Johnson property on Bella Vista Street unnoticed, he failed to spot the Silver Strand Technologies security cameras at the entrance and side of the house.

Jeremy Johnson doesn't just own the cameras but also the company and says he has a pretty good idea why the man was here to grease this gate.

“He's clean cut. His shirt is tucked in. There is nothing scary about this man but what you typically find is this is his research,” Johnson said.

After nearly a decade in the security business Johnson finds this type of stranger visit fairly typical in the days leading up to a break in.

“In my industry this gentlemen is going to do some damage in this neighborhood. I just pray that it's not my house,” Johnson said.

Johnson's cameras weren’t the only ones rolling at 1 p.m. Wednesday. From a home up the hill another neighbor recorded the stranger walking up to every house on Bella Vista Street.

“He's going to each entry to your home except your front door and he is doing something that allows him to see inside of your property behind the gate.

The stranger came unannounced at a time of day when most residents of the Sky Ranch community are at work. He had a rag in one hand and a spray can of WD-40 in the other. At each home Johnson says the intruder greased every gate hinge.

“We've put it on Facebook are neighbors are aware it's on the news,” Johnson said.

From up the hill you see the stranger confronted by one home owner in the white truck. Johnson says the intruder claimed he didn't understand the questions and left the neighborhood.

If he comes back, Sky Ranch is ready.

“Yeah, I really do think he will come back. I think what will help is having everybody on alert though and I think he will be caught actually," Johnson said..

He and others in the neighborhood are sending out the video, still pictures and information on Facebook and the Sky Ranch Next Door internet site.

It has also been reported to the San Diego County Sheriff's Department which patrols Santee.

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