Burglar caught breaking into house a 2nd time, claims he was leaving a thank you note

A serial burglar fresh out of jail went back to a Sarasota home he robbed last year to hit it again, this time with a 'thank you note,' authorities said. Gerald Maxwell, 39, was arrested at the Chippewa Place home on Tuesday night, reportedly telling police, "I was going back in there to leave a thank you note because I'm the guy who burglarized this place last year. I just got out of jail."

Maxwell has a long record of burglaries, according to the Sarasota Police Department. In addition to the most recent arrest and his boast of burglarizing the home a year ago, Maxwell was busted in December 2007 for burglarizing the same home, and has eight total burglary arrests in the area since November 2006. This time, according to arrest reports, Maxwell went to the home in the 2200 block of Chippewa Place around 10:30 p.m Tuesday, pried open a window and crept inside. That triggered a motion-sensing alarm in the home, and a pair of Sarasota police officers responded to the scene.



The two officers approached the home's front door, which opened halfway and then slammed shut, reports said. They then split to cover the front and rear of the home and prevent escape, with more officers and the police department's helicopter called to the scene. Police quickly spotted Maxwell inside the home and ordered him out, reports said. As Maxwell did, he was taken into custody, uttering his "thank you note" line.

Inside the home, investigators found a stack of jewellery they said Maxwell had gathered in his heist attempt, along with a crack pipe left near the pile of jewellery. Maxwell was taken to the Sarasota County Jail. He was charged with burglary and possession of drug paraphernalia, along with four counts of probation violation.