CENTERVILLE — Families in the Centerville and Washington Twp. area are sharing video of a man they say has been ringing people’s doorbells in the middle of the night.
Chad McCain and his family recently moved to Centerville. They feel safe, but information started circulating on social media about an unknown man ringing doorbells. One Facebook post shows a clear image of the man’s face from a Ring doorbell camera.
“I think it’s kind of alarming. It can be late at night,” McCain said.
While many families speculate it could be a prank, others say it’s not funny.
“You worry for your family’s safety even if it is a prank, and it’s funny to do. I hope that they do catch him and stop it before something bad happens,” McCain said.
Centerville police said they have not received any calls about the door-ringing suspect.
Using doorbell cameras, police have been successful in identifying and apprehending criminals. For example, in January police arrested a suspected porch pirate.
“We put that picture from a doorbell camera and immediately started getting a flood of tips,” Centerville police officer John Davis said.
>> Centerville porch pirate suspect jailed
With so many households with security cameras, Centerville police are working on starting a camera database to help them fight crime.
“It’s a voluntary program where residents will be able to tell us we’ve got a camera, what kind of camera it may be and where it’s facing so if they have an incident in their neighborhood we can give them a call and say, ‘hey, can you check your camera to see if you have anything,’” Davis said.
While the McCain family doesn’t have any cameras ... “it would help so you can definitely see who’s at the door, especially if it’s at the middle of the night.” They may be getting one soon.
Got a news tip? Call our monitored 24-hour line, 937-259-2237, or send it to newsdesk@cmgohio.com