Rochester man interrupts home burglary

A 23-year-old Rochester man interrupted a burglary-in-process Tuesday morning.

A little before 7:55 a.m., the Rochester man got a call from his neighbor that someone was digging in the dumpster in front of his home in the 600 block of 8th Avenue SE.

The man returned home and didn’t see anyone in front of his home, but noticed two things amiss — there was a bike leaning against his dumpster, and the gate to his backyard — and the back door of his home — was unlatched and open.

The man went to his front door, unlocked and opened it, and heard someone moving around in his kitchen or laundry room.

From the front door, he shouted that he was calling police, and heard the person inside his home run out the back door.

The young man went back to his driveway, where he allegedly encountered 51-year-old Darin Huntington, also of Rochester, loading items onto the bike.

Huntington allegedly rode away on the bike while the 23-year-old called Rochester police.

An officer responding to the call saw Huntington on the 1000 block of 6th Street SE, pulled him over, and found the victim’s alleged missing property — some tools and a checkbook from inside the house.

The police officer also claimed to have found prescription medication not addressed to Huntington and a meth pipe on his person.

Huntington faces charges of 1st-degree burglary, 5th-degree controlled substance possession, and possession of drug paraphernalia.

According to Rochester police, Huntington admitted to going into the man’s backyard and claimed he wanted to see the house in case he could rent it at a later date.

Huntington denied entering the home.