Categories: News, Schenectady County

A man kicked in a homeowner’s back door Tuesday morning, encountered the resident and then pleaded with the resident not to call the police, police said.

The homeowner did call the police, and the man remained peaceful until officers arrived to arrest him, police said.

Jacob R. O’Donnell, 37, of 963 Kings Road, Schenectady, faces one count of second-degree burglary, a felony, and one count of fourth-degree criminal mischief, a misdemeanor.

The incident happened at about 7:30 a.m. at the Mariaville Road home. Police did not get a clear reason why the man broke in, police spokesman Lt. Michael Brown said. Police received no reports of other burglaries in the area and he is not suspected in other break-ins, Brown said.

However, police believe O’Donnell may have expected the home to be vacant. He mentioned something to the homeowner during the encounter about the home being in foreclosure.

“We feel like he intended on stealing something from the residence,” Brown said, “but he never made it that far. The homeowner caught him shortly after he broke in.”

The homeowner’s first indication of something amiss was a loud noise – the back door getting kicked in, Brown said. That awoke the resident, who quickly grabbed his cell phone and went to investigate.

The homeowner discovered the kicked-in door and then discovered O’Donnell inside an unfinished room, police said.

Despite O’Donnell’s pleas, the homeowner called police and officers in the area responded quickly. O’Donnell, unarmed, waited and offered no struggle, Brown said.

As for why O’Donnell remained only to plead with the resident, Brown did not know, but he noted that the resident “was considerably bigger than the suspect.”

O’Donnell was arraigned and ordered held on $7,500 bail.

Reach Gazette reporter Steven Cook at 395-3122, [email protected] or @ByStevenCook on Twitter.