Ex-roommate hid in attic, conducted secret surveillance

? A man thrown out by his roommate returned to the home and hid in an attic crawl space for nearly six weeks, spying on the roommate through a telephone tap and hidden baby monitors, police said.

The secret surveillance was discovered Saturday when someone investigating strange noises pushed a screwdriver into a hole in the ceiling, and the screwdriver was pushed back, police Sgt. Andy Dewese said.

After he was discovered, Robin E. Lewis fled in a stolen vehicle, then returned Sunday and left his ex-roommate a note reading, “I will always be watching you,” police said.

Lewis, who had been kicked out for not paying his share of the rent, also was wanted on an unrelated armed robbery warrant, police said. He remained at large Tuesday.

The roommate, Aaron Smith, told the Frederick News-Post he planned to avoid the rented town house until Lewis is caught, “or I’ll move. I don’t know what else to do.”

The men had been roommates for 10 months, Smith said.

Smith told police he kicked Lewis out of the two-story town house at the end of March for failing to pay his share of the rent.

After that, Smith said, he heard odd noises for weeks but could never locate the source.