Daytime burglar in Germantown caught on camera, seen by neighbors

A daytime buglary in Germantown was all caught on home security cameras. And that's not the only place she was seen.

Neighbors report the burgler stopped at their homes to ask about a lost jacket before stealing from a home where no one was home.

The targeted homeowners tell CBS 58 they've been following the case closely. The woman charged has been convicted of stealing before in 2013 and 2014. Police say the day before Reina Proft turned 28, she broke into a Germantown home.

According to the criminal complaint, she entered the house in the middle of the day between 1:37 and 1:50 in the afternoon. Homeowner cameras caught an image of the burglar and police posted it on social media.

Many people online recognized her, including neighbor Arlyn Collett. Police stopped by her home hours after the theft, and that's when she realized the suspect stopped by her home first.

"They had seen the footage already and already knew what she looked like, and they were looking to see if I could support what they already knew," said Collett.

Police warned homeowners the woman they were looking for, would knock first to make sure no one is home.

When Collett answered the door, the suspect had an excuse.

"She knocked on my door and asked if I'd seen her daughter's jacket. And asked if I had a little boy here that would be her daughter's friend and had her jacket, and I said, 'No I didn't.'"

Collett said the woman didn't seem suspicious at the time.

"I thought, 'Well darn. I wish I had an extra coat to give her if she needs one,' but that wasn't was she needed," said Collett.

Now the neighbor knows she was target. Collett lives close to the home that was burglarized.

"She wasn't dangerous. She was very polite. She wasn't threatening at all. There was never anything scary about it, mostly just disappointing that it happened," said Collette.

When police spoke to 28-year-old Proft, they say she admitted to taking cash from the home. Proft told police she chose the house because it looked like no one was home, and she didn't think there were security cameras.

Proft posted $2,000 cash bail earlier this month and is scheduled to be back in court at the end of January.