Denver burglar caught red-handed when paint trail leads back to his home

DENVER – A burglar was literally caught red-handed after he left a trail of paint from the convenience store he broke into back to his home.

A newly-unsealed search warrant show Daniel Cline, 37, made off with quite the haul when he burglarized the Mexicana Mart on West Alameda Avenue in late July.

After he broke into the store through a window air conditioning unit, he allegedly stole two laptops, cartons of cigarettes, pipes, an internet router, blunt wraps and a cordless drill, among other items.

But he apparently failed notice he had knocked over a can of bright red paint that had been sitting atop the air conditioning unit and had gotten it all over himself while rifling through the store.

A responding Denver Police Department officer noticed a trail of red footprints leading back out of the business and followed them down a nearby alley to a home in the 1500 block of West Alameda.

The officer noted in an affidavit for Cline’s arrest that there was red paint on a door jamb at the house and on its floor.

A back door was open, so the officer went inside and found Cline asleep inside with red paint on his arms, hands and socks.

Police confirmed Cline was the same man seen burglarizing the convenience store on surveillance video and charged him with second-degree burglary. He is due in court on the charge Sept. 26.