Man with stolen sword, blind cat and meditation balls arrested on suspicion of burglary

It was the case of the sword, the blind black cat and a pair of Chinese meditation balls. In fact, it was two cases with those same clues. So it didn't take police too long to figure out that the two crimes were connected.

At the scene of the first crime, at a home in the Easy Living mobile home park, in Lawrence, Kansas, a burglar apparently entered while residents were out, sometime before 5pm on Sunday, and made off with a medium-length Japanese-style sword, a blind black cat and the Chinese meditation balls, among other items, according to Sgt. Trent McKinley, a Lawrence Police Department spokesman.



Shortly after, the burglar struck again at another residence in the same neighbourhood, McKinley said. At about 5:20pm, the man terrified the residents of a nearby mobile home by barging in through their front door. He had no shoes or shirt on, but he was wearing the stolen sword on his waist in a scabbard, and was carrying the meditation balls and the cat. The residents fled to a neighbour's house to call police, McKinley said, afraid for their lives, as the man entered their home and began eating their food.

About 90 minutes after police arrived at the home and arrested Blake Robert Hurd, 31, of Lawrence, the earlier crime was reported. Connecting the two incidents, police arrested Hurd on suspicion of both crimes and returned the property and the cat, who goes by the name of Freddie. Douglas County prosecutors charged Hurd on Monday with aggravated burglary, burglary, and two counts of theft. He remains in Douglas County Jail with bond set at $25,000.