Police: Burglar hid in closet all day as family was home

DAYTON, Texas -- While many people spent the day after Thanksgiving watching football, eating or shopping, an accused burglar spent it hiding in a closet despite the family being home.

The Liberty County Sheriff's Office identifies the man as Mike Even, 59.

Justyn Lleverino believes Even got in his Dayton home by climbing on a water pipe and through a bedroom window. His mother noticed the broken pipe around 8:30 last Friday morning, but did not notice anything else out of the ordinary. Lleverino says when he got home later that afternoon, a few things seemed out of place. Still, over the next two hours, he video-chatted with his girlfriend, took a shower and even checked his closet-twice. It wasn't until around 6:30pm that they all decided to call a deputy for help.

"I was like, I looked in there twice and I didn't see anything. He looked in there and he found someone in there and I was kind of shocked," Lleverino told Eyewitness News. "It's like that violated feeling."

Even was arrested wearing only a T-shirt and boxers that were too small. Lleverino says they found his wet clothes under the bed along with a watch, his driver's license, a necklace and an old check they believe he planned to steal.

The family now looks at the experience as a lesson learned about how unsecured their home really was.

Even is charged with burglary of a habitation and is being held on a $5,000 bond.