Authorities in New Mexico have released body camera footage showing a seemingly disoriented intruder being discovered sleeping in a woman’s bedroom.
The home invasion took place in Albuquerque back in January, but the local police department released footage documenting the incident only this week.
Police responded to a residence off of I-25 in southeast Albuquerque just before 1am on January 12 after receiving a report about a burglary in progress.
The homeowner said she had returned to the house to find a stranger in her bedroom, reported KRQE.
‘I came in and they were just sitting there,’ she tells an officer. ‘They were just sitting there in one of my bedrooms.’
Newly released body camera video shows the intruder, identified as 48-year-old Martin Copeland, soundly asleep, despite a bright light shining on him.
‘Hey, police, get up!’ an officer yells at the unwelcome guest. ‘Let me see your hands.’
Video shows a groggy-looking Copeland in a face mask sitting on the homeowner’s bed, before he is escorted out of the house and ordered to sit on the curb.
Copeland was said to have a difficult time communicating with the police, but at one point he falsely claimed that he lived at the home.
Out on the sidewalk, the officer asks the homeowner if she wants to press charges against Copeland.
After a long pause, the woman opts to hold the intruder accountable, leading to his arrest on a count of breaking and entering.
He was later booked into the city jail and photographed for a mugshot, which shows him with a blank stare and his mouth agape.
According to police, just months prior he was arrested for breaking intro another woman’s home and falling asleep in her bed.
Copeland has been given a mental health evaluation that found him competent to stand trial.
