Police say a man who walked out of group home in Salem has been arrested after terrifying a neighborhood.
Nicholas Benner, 21, is accused of trying to break into four homes about a half-mile from the group home where he was a resident.
Police say the group home is located at 296 Witch Meadow Road in Salem.
It’s under the state Department of Developmental Services and property records show it’s owned by Key Human Services based in Wethersfield.
Police say around 11:00pm on Friday the home manager reported Benner had walked out.
The manager says Benner requires multiple medications and had not taken them.
Troopers started searching for him and almost were going to end it when there was a 911 call from a home on West Road.
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That’s where Linda Motyl and her husband had woken up to a man banging on their front door and glass breaking.
“Every time he hit it it was louder and louder like he just wanted to get into the house and I was just like so scared because I thought he was going to get in,” says Linda Motyl. “If he got into the house, I thought he was going to kill us because I could just, I could feel the rage. I mean every time he hit that door you could just feel that rage. It just felt evil outside.”
Motyl says her husband grabbed his gun and told Benner to leave. That’s when they say Benner started banging on another door.
“He wanted to get into the house. He wasn’t leaving,” says Motyl.
After the Motyls called 911, police quickly arrived and Linda Motyl says the man took off.
Before police could find him, they say Benner tried to break into three other nearby homes. They say they found broken windows and damage to several vehicles at each home. Finally, in front of one of them police say they caught up to Benner and he confronted them with a five-foot long tree branch.
Police say they decided to deploy a taser on Benner and then he was taken to a hospital. He was later charged with four counts of criminal attempt to commit home invasion, three counts of criminal mischief, one count of criminal attempt to commit assault on a public safety personnel, and one count of interfering with an officer. Benner is being held on $100,000 bond and is due in court in Norwich Monday.
Many neighbors say they were unaware of the group home so close by.
“I don’t know why they had someone who was just so unstable there. He was a very dangerous person last night,” says Motyl.
The Department of Developmental Services says it does not comment on police investigations. Key Human Services did not return a request for comment Saturday night.
The events have left neighbors feeling uneasy.
“I haven’t slept. I haven’t eaten. I’m just like I’ve never experienced anything like this,” says Motyl. “We moved out to Salem. It’s a quiet town. It’s a beautiful town. We just felt safe here and yeah, that was shattered last night. I don’t feel safe here anymore.”
