Family wakes to find allegedly drunken stranger sleeping on their sofa; auto burglary on Colorado Street; update on dog wounded by shotgun

Hope standing with the assistance of shelter staff. Photo courtesy of Kate Meghji.

The Sandman must have been out in full force, because police say a man who allegedly broke into a Lawrence home this morning fell asleep on a sofa in the residence.

Residents of a home in the 500 block of Boulder Street heard a ruckus at their front door around 5 a.m. today, Lawrence police spokesman Sgt. Trent McKinley said. But they had a relative staying with them and just assumed the noise was their guest leaving the house.

Nope. It was an apparently drunken man kicking their door in, McKinley said. The family would later discover their door and door frame were damaged.

About two hours later, the residents found the stranger, identified on booking logs as 28-year-old Shane Conrad Miller, fast asleep on a sofa in their basement, McKinley said.

It appeared that after Miller, of Lawrence, broke down the door, he went downstairs, kicked off his shoes and took a nap on the residents’ sofa, McKinley said.

The residents called police, and McKinley said Miller told officers that he didn’t know where he was.

Officers arrested Miller on suspicion of criminal trespass and criminal damage to property. He was released from jail around 11 a.m. on a $200 bond.

According to the jail booking log, the man lives about a mile from the residence where he ended up.

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I’ve been noticing quite a few auto burglaries lately. It’s not all that uncommon, but I always want to let people know so they remember to lock their cars. I know that doesn’t always prevent burglaries – a couple years ago, somebody smashed my car window to swipe something inside – but why make it easier for a thief?

One person reported around that someone had taken a bag, some books and a voice recorder from his or her car, which had been left unlocked. It happened between 8 p.m. Thursday and midnight Friday in the 500 block of Colorado Street. Officers have not been able to identify a suspect yet.

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While police were searching the area of that alleged Colorado Street auto burglary for a suspect, they happened on a man carrying a backpack around 2:20 a.m.

The officers stopped the man and got his name, then discovered he had a warrant out for his arrest, McKinley said. The man then took off. Police pursued him for some time, but he got away. He’s not a suspect in the auto burglary at this time.
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Hope, the dog who was found yesterday with three gunshot wounds near U.S. Highway 24, is doing well today, the Lawrence Humane Society said. They’re taking care of her, and the staff reports Hope is giving them plenty of doggy kisses in thanks.

When I met her yesterday she’d just gotten out of surgery and was on some pain medication, but still shaking on and off. She is really wounded, but we thought it best not to photograph her injuries. Still, she acted very gentle and sweet – when she pulls through I’m sure she’ll make a family very happy.

Humane Society Executive Director Kate Meghji said yesterday that Hope’s left rear leg (the one with the green cast-looking thing) will be amputated in the next few days. Today, they’re X-Raying Hope to see if they can find more shotgun pellets in her body. They found dozens of pellets in three separate clusters yesterday.

I’ll keep following her progress.

If you’d like to help out with Hope’s treatment and care, the Humane Society is asking folks to donate to its medical fund at www.lawrencehumane.org/donate.

The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office said yesterday that it is trying to find out the circumstances of the shooting and it continues to search for her owner. Anyone with information should call the sheriff’s office at (785) 841-0007 or the Humane Society at (785) 843-6835.
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By the way, I’m taking off from work Monday and Tuesday, so there won’t be a Lights & Sirens on those days. Expect a full report on Wednesday.
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And now for our regular roundup of police calls. As always, I’ll remind you that this is a list of noteworthy calls I pulled from the Lawrence Police Department call log. Not all calls yielded police reports, and many may have gone unsubstantiated. The list is meant to give you an idea of what kinds of calls police are responding to within a given time period.

This list is a collection of calls that police responded to between Thursday and Friday mornings.

Violence

– Disturbance (verbal or physical arguments): 7

• Disturbance with weapons: 1

– Domestic disturbance: 2

• Battery: 1

Traffic

– Noninjury accident: 9

• Injury accident: 1

Medical

– Medical: 5

– Suicide threat: 1

• Suicide attempt: 1

Drugs

• Drug activity: 1

Miscellaneous

– Suspicious activity: 5

– Missing adult: 1

– Police pursuit: 1

– Noise/Nuisance: 2

– Runaway: 2

– Fireworks: 1

Property crimes

– Burglary: 4

– Theft: 7

– Stolen vehicle: 2

– Trespassing: 2

– Auto burglary: 2

– Criminal damage: 2