An armed burglar in New Mexico, US, left $200 (roughly Rs 15,000) for homeowners before fleeing their place.

The owners of the house set out on January 30 to find a man who had broken in through a window. According to the Santa Fe New Mexican, the man identified as Teral Christesson (34-year-old) had bathed, slept, drunk beer, and eaten at the house before he was caught.

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A statement of probable cause filed in Santa Fe County Magistrate Court mentioned that Teral Christesson was armed with an AR-15 rifle but did not threaten or steal any belongings from the owners of the house. Instead of causing violence, the burglar apologised to the owners for breaking in. According to the statement, he said he needed a warm place for the night and left $200 as “reimbursement for the window he broke”.

According to the Santa Fe New Mexican, the owner of the house estimated the damage to be around $200. The report also mentioned that the burglar left the house with his rifle and a duffle bag.

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The burglar had shared his story with the family before he left. Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office police report that when the owners asked the man why he was in the house, he said that his family had been killed in east Texas, and he was running away from someone. He also said that his car had broken down outside town.

The next day, the police received a complaint of carjacking by a man whose description was similar to that of the burglar. Apparently, the burglar had gone to a woman at a restaurant’s drive-thru, asked her to get out of the car, and tried to take the car from her. When the woman started honking, the man ran away.

Police later found the burglar walking by a road in town and took him into custody. When interrogated, he confessed that he had broken into the house on Sunday to save himself from a blizzard and said that he had left his money for the house owner because he “felt” bad. But the burglar refused to speak about the carjacking incident.

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The burglar was booked into the Santa Fe County jail. Charges of aggravated burglary, larceny, and criminal damage to property were leveled against him and he was also charged with aggravated assault.