BUTTE — Lucas Pressler was already having a bad day when his 71-year-old father had to be rushed from his Butte home to the hospital for a medical emergency, but it got worse when he returned to his father’s home a few hours later and discovered it had been burglarized with precious family heirlooms stolen.
“I mean, talk about kicking somebody when they’re down. Obviously, they watched him, watched the ambulance come and get him, seen that he wasn’t home and nobody’s around,” said Pressler.
The crime happened sometime between 1 and 4 p.m. on Monday when the rear dog door to the home was forced open. Among the several items stolen were firearms that had been passed down from family members.
“It’s pretty sad, I don’t know what this community’s coming to. These thieves are doing it in broad daylight,” he said.
The neighborhood watch group for the area has put up cameras and suspects the crime is coming from people squatting in abandoned homes in the area. Residents are shocked by the daylight crime.
“It’s terrible and I’m really mad and we’d like to find these people,” said neighbor Holly Ostoj.
Butte police are investigating the crime but could not provide any further details. Pressler is offering a $1,000 reward for any information helpful in finding the stolen items and who took them. He added he and his father are frustrated with the crime in the area.
“But I know my dad’s age group, they’re wanting to do it themselves and I don’t think we could do that, you know, they’re from the old school,” said Pressler.
He said his father remains in the hospital but is making a recovery.
