A 38-year-old man is facing charges in relation to a break and enter investigation in south London Tuesday that ended with the accused jumping into the Thames River and officers wading in after him.
Police said it all began around 1:15 p.m. when an 11-year-old girl found an unknown man in her home near Wortley Road and Byron Avenue West, fled outside, and alerted a couple walking nearby.
The girl told investigators she had heard a knock at the door but didn’t answer, and later heard her dog barking upstairs and located the man when she went to check on it, police said.
Police said a man was located by one of the passersby hiding in the bushes at the side of the house, and was chased toward Euclid Avenue.
“The suspect threatened the man, who continued to follow from a distance,” police said Wednesday. “The suspect then changed out of his shoes and into a pair of rollerblades, fleeing the area on the bike path in Thames Park.”
Officers called to the area found the suspect going into the river and went in after him. He was fished out of the river just west of Ridout Street and placed into custody.
The suspect, a 38-year-old London man, faces several charges including break and enter, possession of property obtained by crime under $5,000, uttering threats of death or bodily harm, and fail to comply with release order.
No one was physically hurt during the incident, and all property was returned.
The accused was scheduled to appear in court Wednesday.