Thursday, 4:30 PM
Elderly Lawrence woman hides in bathroom from afternoon burglar
By Ari Bloomkatz and Andrew Ryan, Globe Correspondents
An elderly woman in Lawrence barricaded herself in her bathroom and called 911 when prosecutors say she saw a man breaking into her home in the middle of the afternoon.
Police arrested the man, Luis R. Burgos Jr., 30, who pleaded not guilty to burglary and other charges in Lawrence District Court this morning, according to Essex County District Attorney spokeswoman Karen Dawley.
The elderly woman, who Dawley declined to identify, heard a noise outside her home at about 1 p.m. on Monday. The woman looked out the window and saw a man trying to force his way in her door, Dawley said. She grabbed her cell phone, called police and ran into the bathroom to hide.
Officers arrived and arrested Burgos after a brief struggle, Dawley said. He was charged with breaking and entering, resisting arrest, violation of probation, malicious destruction of property and possession of burglary tools, which Dawley described as a screwdriver.
Burgos is scheduled to be in court again in August, said Dawley, who did not have an exact date for his next appearance.
