US airman searching for keepsakes after burglary caught on camera

SAN ANTONIO – An enlisted US airman was the victim of a burglary that was captured on camera.

Marcus Thomas returned from a trip overseas to discover that his West San Antonio apartment was broken into and several priceless items were stolen.

“I take a few steps inside and see a big space where my television was,” said Thomas. “There’s clearly been a break-in. I look at the back door and it’s mostly destroyed, broken open deadbolt. Somebody kicked in the back door and helped themselves to whatever.”

Thomas said his apartment in the 1400 block of Cable Ranch Road was broken into on March 19, but his neighbor’s doorbell camera showed several individuals walking to the front door of Thomas’s apartment days before the burglary.

The video then shows the individuals taking items out of Thomas’s apartment. Thomas said the burglars stole three televisions, electronics, a rifle, ammunition and other personal items and documents.

“My tax documents, birth certificates, Social Security card,” said Thomas. “All those things were stolen in the fireproof safe. I also had my mother’s death certificate. There was an obituary, a flier pamphlet from the service. Those things are gone. They have no value to anybody but myself.”

Another priceless item stolen from Thomas’s apartment was a walking stick he had when he climbed Mount Fuji in freezing weather.

“Another person who didn’t experience that wouldn’t have any value in that item. This is a memory I have. I still keep it with me to this day,” said Thomas. “It’s not the cost of the stick. It’s the memories I associate with it. I went to Japan, I climbed the mountain and brought this back from the top.”

San Antonio police said the case remains under investigation. Thomas recovered a few of the stolen items, but is still searching for many of his sentimental belongings.

He said on top of what was stolen, there is a sense of security taken as well.

“I hadn’t lived here very long. I wasn’t too concerned about safety or crime for the most part, but in the immediate aftermath, I think I became hyper-vigilant at that point. Is somebody coming back? So I’m just kind of on my toes at that point,” said Thomas. “At no point in time would I want to live near or close to people that are going to steal from you. I don’t feel at home at that point.”