Brazen burglar calls locksmith to give her access to home

The burglar went to extreme lengths to gain access to the house. Photo / 123RF

A US woman pretended she owned a home so a locksmith would make her new keys. Then police locked her up.

Officers arrested a 43-year-old woman on suspicion of burglary Thursday night in Coronado, a resort city across the bay from San Diego, California.

The brazen burglary was foiled when the real homeowner called Coronado police and said her neighbour noticed suspicious activity at the home. The homeowner was out of town, yet the neighbour saw the home's lights being turned on and off.

Officers arrived and the neighbour — a relative of the homeowner's — gave them a spare key. But it didn't fit the front door's lock, and metal shavings and pieces of an old lock were on the ground nearby.

As police walked around the home, they saw back doors open and a fireplace turned on as music played inside. After calling for a helicopter and a K-9 unit, officers saw someone moving around on the second floor in what was supposed to be an empty house with only one spare key.

Police called out to the person inside, who came out a few minutes later and was arrested. The woman claimed there were two kids in the house, but a police search turned up empty.

The woman told police the home was hers and said she'd called a locksmith earlier to change the front door's locks.

No word if the burglar gave anyone a spare key.

- Associated Press