Aug. 09--A Hollywood, Fla., man was arrested Wednesday evening after attempting to gain access to a home that wasn't his own, with the help of an unsuspecting locksmith, police said.
Bruce Davis' story didn't seem peculiar: He had lost the keys to his home and needed a locksmith to get inside. This is what he told an employee at Lee's Locksmith and Bicycle Shop to get him to open the door to a Hollywood home, the arrest report stated.
The locksmith drove Davis, 57, to the home on the 4700 block of Madison Street, and worked on the door. Davis had told the locksmith he would show proof he lived there once he got inside.
But when the door was opened, the real owner stepped forward instead.
Michael Callahan, who lives in the home, was outside and approached, asking why they were entering his home.
The locksmith then became suspicious and locked the door he had just opened.
"Once the witnesses all got together, they all realized that ... it wasn't your home and that you had allegedly pulled one over on the locksmith," said Broward Judge John "Jay" Hurley during Davis' first appearance in court Thursday.
When the owner and the locksmith said they would call police, Davis swung his bicycle at them, got on it and pedaled off.
Hollywood police arrested Davis on the corner of Washington Street and South 52nd Avenue. Police did not arrest the locksmith.
According to the arrest report, Davis said that he had gone to Citibank and changed the address of his bank account to the address of the home before he had attempted to gain access.
Marco Salvino Sr., owner of Lee's Locksmith and Bicycle Shop, said it is standard procedure in his business to unlock homes and cars and get proof of residence or ownership afterward.
"If you locked your purse inside the house, or your vehicle registration in your car, how are you going to provide proof?" Salvino said.
He added that this is a first for his business.
"Typically, we proceed to open the door and the owners will come forward with pictures and documents that say they live inside," he said. "If they don't, my employees are instructed to call the police."
During first-appearance court, Hurley said it was worrisome that a locksmith could just open a door.
" 'Hey, that mansion over there, that's my house, could you open the door to it?' -- that is concerning," Hurley said.
Davis was charged with attempted burglary and is being held in lieu of a $3,500 bond.
Salvino said Davis did pay the locksmith for his work.
"He gave my locksmith $55 in cash."
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