Thief Uses Garage Door Opener To Steal Thousands of Dollars in Equipment from Normal Heights Home

The suspect took off bikes, camera equipment and cameras worth a total of approximately $20,000

Authorities are now investigating after a burglary at a home in the Normal Heights neighborhood of San Diego.

Matt Buster, a resident on the 4700 block of 33rd Street, told NBC 7 that someone used his own garage door opener to steal thousands of dollars worth of race gear and camera equipment.

He had left the garage door remote in his locked jeep, parked in his driveway. The suspect not only took his bikes and equipment, but also took the jeep after finding the keys hanging inside the garage.

The theft occurred in the early hours of Monday morning, while Buster and his wife were sleeping.

“We sleep five, 10-feet from where they were taking their pick of our things. It's not a comfortable feeling at all,” Buster said.

The couple said they did not hear the garage door open or the suspect rifling through their most prized possessions.

“I made it really easy for them. I left the keys in the garage. The garage door opener in the car and a lot of things we own in the garage. I kind of gave it to them on a silver plate,” Buster said.

Buster told NBC 7 that he and his wife are triathletes.

The suspect took off with two road bikes, two triathlon bicycles, his wife's camera bag, camera and accessories, worth a total of around $20,000.

“They had a good idea of what they were after, at least value wise,” Buster added.

The suspect had used the couple's jeep as a getaway car but police recovered the vehicle 24 hours later on Vista Street at Biona Place. The location is just a mile and a half from the couple's home.

“Every time we have left since, there is a possibility somebody is going to come back and see if they got a shot at something they missed. It's an eerie feeling,” Buster said.

So far, the police investigation has turned up a picture of a possible suspect exiting the black jeep. While the Buster's jeep was recovered, the other stolen items are not.

Buster told NBC 7 that another car was broken into and while one other was stolen in his same neighborhood this week.

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