Help homeowner ID man who broke in

AUSTIN (KXAN) - Last week, Ronnie Carlson came home from work to find his normally spotless home in disarray.

"I noticed my lights on in my house, and all the cabinets and drawers in my bedroom had been gone through," said Carlson.

Damage suggests someone tried to kick in the back door and when the plan failed, they threw a flower pot through his kitchen window and climbed inside.

"He passed up a laptop that was sitting on my couch, the normals -- TVs stuff like that - an iPad," said Carlson.

Instead, they went for the bathroom cabinets and bedroom drawers, likely hunting for cash and prescription pills.

"My blood pressure kind of raised up," said Carlson. "I got kind of mad at first, and then I  settled down and called 911."

Then, the computer expert remembered he was prepared for a crime like this.

He had two surveillance cameras mounted in the windows. The burglar's movements triggered one of the cameras when he was leaving.

The video clip shows a Hispanic man pulling around to the side of the house in an orange Chevy hatchback and running to the backyard to retrieve a bucket of painting materials he brought with him to make it look like he was working.

Even if someone does not recognize the man's face, they might notice his ride.

"It's an odd car, a burnt orange Aveo hatchback. That's definitely a car that sticks out," said Carlson.

Carlson installed the surveillance system a few months ago after his North Austin neighborhood, Pioneer Crossing, suffered a string of break-ins.

Police are working the case, and Carlson has posted flyers with the man's picture around the neighborhood. He has also made some changes around his home that could have prevented the crime all together. Carlson added a lock to his gate and started using his security alarm.

"It was not on. I was kind of like 'this would never happen to me' and of course it did," he said.