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Police: Nude burglar braved 37-degree temperatures for purse theft

By Ben Hooper
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AUBURN, Calif., Dec. 28 (UPI) -- Police in California said frigid 37-degree temperatures did not influence the fashion choices of a purse-purloining burglar who broke into a home while nude.

Auburn police said Adam Pettibone, 28, was stark naked just after 8 p.m. Friday when the Auburn homeowner and her boyfriend caught him stealing a purse inside the house.

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The boyfriend chased Pettibone out of the home and down the street, where the suspect got into an SUV.

"He got in the car, and I was ahead of it," the boyfriend told KCRA-TV. "And then I jumped out of the way and then he swerved toward me."

The boyfriend was struck by the SUV and he was treated for swollen and bruised hands at an urgent care facility.

"I just don't know if it was an attempted robbery, or if it was attempted rape, or if he was targeting this place," the homeowner said. "It's unsettling."

The SUV was found abandoned near the scene and Pettibone was arrested a short time later.

Police said they do not know why Pettibone was naked at the time of the incident.

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"The proper way to dress typically would be long pants, a long jacket, some type of hat, maybe some gloves at that time of night -- obviously not nude," Auburn police Sgt. Tucker Huey said of Friday's weather.

Pettibone was arrested and charged with assault with a deadly weapon and burglary. He was taken to the Placer County Jail in lieu of $250,000 bail.

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