Crime and Courts

Great Falls family rattled by home invasion

Posted: Nov 25, 2012 9:17 PM by Tara Grimes - MTN News

GREAT FALLS - Police are looking for a man who broke into a family's southside home early Saturday morning.

Terri Flebotte says she was fast asleep at 2 a.m. on Saturday when a man broke into the back door of her home.

The man, who she said "reeked of alcohol," walked past the kitchen and the room where her 14-year old son Jacob was sleeping, past the bedroom where a 15-year old exchange student was on the computer, down two flights of stairs, past the room where her husband Joe had fallen asleep on the couch, and into her bedroom, closing the door behind him.

Terri said the intruder was leaning over her with his phone. "Joe walked into the door right there and saw the light and the person standing."

A fight ensued between Joe and the man before the man was able to flee the home.

But he left behind a pair of shoes, a Duke University baseball hat, and a mobile phone.

However, until the man is caught, Terri says it'll be hard to sleep at night.

She noted, "You know, I'm a counselor, I like to believe people are good and I hate to say that this kind of shook that a little bit. In your house you want to feel safe, your bed especially, so I feel like I'm angry. I'm angry that was taken from me."

And Terri says she just hope he's caught so this nightmare doesn't happen to anyone else.

She says the man looked to be in his 20s, is white, about 6 feet tall, with dark hair and was wearing dark baggy clothes.

Neighbors did tell the family they had chased a man with a similar description out of their yard several times in the past.

If you have any information about the incident, you're asked to call the Great Falls Police Department at 771-1180.