Mail carrier breaks into house on route, wears homeowner's shoes

DOVER, N.H. - A New Hampshire mail carrier was arrested after allegedly breaking into a home on his route, reported CBS Boston.

The homeowner was alerted to the break-in after a motion sensor sent her surveillance video of the suspect inside the Dover, New Hampshire house on Wednesday morning.

The homeowner, who asked not to be identified, recognized the man in her house - and also recognized his footwear. According to the station, the suspect had been trying on the homeowner's shoes after breaking in. The suspect has been identified as Richard Ringer, 39, of Raymond N.H, a postal worker who serves the Dover area.

"He didn't take anything from the house," Lt. Brant Dolleman of the Dover Police Department told CBS Boston. "Apparently he went into the house once, left the house and went back into the house. While in there, he put on some boots that she had and wore them inside the house, walked around with those on inside the house for some reason."

"Obviously in cases like this you're always checking to see who is in the neighborhood; it's not that big a town," Lt. Dolleman explained. "He's a recognizable face in the neighborhood and as I said, we were able to locate him pretty quickly. We were able to find him by about 2 o'clock. He was still wearing the same clothes. Not the boots, but the clothes."

The homeowner was especially concerned with h0w quickly the suspect found her boots, which was evident in the surveillance video. The homeowner told the station the shoes are kept in a box beneath her bed, suggesting that he may have been in her home before.

Police are concerned there may be other houses the suspect has broken into, the station reported.

"That's one of the reasons to get this story out there - not just to talk about what a strange story it is," Dolleman said. "It's to see, do we have other victims out there?"

According to CBS Boston, Ringer was released on bail.