Man forces way into home, steals loose change

A man forced his way into a wheelchair-bound woman's home and demanded car keys before leaving with loose change early Thursday morning.

Deborah Novosad, 55, of 310 Shady Bend Circle, reported that she was up reading around 3:40 a.m. Thursday when someone knocked on the door, said Grand Island police Capt. Pete Kortum.

She opened the door slightly and, because she didn't recognize the man, she asked what he wanted. She had partially blocked the door with her motorized wheelchair but the man was able to reach inside and use the wheelchair's control stick to move it away from the door, Kortum said.

The man demanded car keys and when Novosad said she didn't have a car, he demanded money instead. During this time, Novosad called out to her husband who was asleep in another room. Their dog also woke up and began barking, Kortum said.

The man grabbed loose change and dollar bills from a kitchen counter and left, Kortum said.

Police had a patrol dog nearby and used the animal in an attempt to track the man but lawn sprinklers prevented the dog from picking up a scent, Kortum said.

Novosad described the man as white, in his mid-20s, 5-foot-7 to 6-foot tall and 150 to 160 pounds. She said he had dark hair, was skinny and small-boned, was clean shaven, had a clear complexion and has a tattoo on the left side of his neck. He was wearing blue jeans, a ball cap, a dirty white or gray shirt, and low-top sneakers.

Kortum said home robberies are unusual in Grand Island though there have been homes burglarized while people were home. Most robberies here occur outdoors or at a business, he said.

"Thankfully we don't have many home robberies," he said.

Anyone with information about the robbery is asked to call the Grand Island Police Department at 385-5400.