ARLINGTON, Va. — Brand new locks and a doorbell camera are now installed on Monica Dudley-Weldon's front door at the Arbors of Arlington on South Old Glebe Road after she woke up to find a man unlocking her front door.
"I heard the creaking and then I opened up my app to check the notification and I was like is that a ghost," said Dudley-Weldon.
Her Nest camera surveillance video captured the moments a man opened her locked door and poked his head inside. She says she watched as he backed away and shut the door. She ran over and re-locked it as soon as it was closed.
"I'm thinking I know I locked the door and the whole time I'm thinking how in the heck does he get in," she recalled.
Dudley-Weldon said she then grabbed her gun from a safe and called 911, but as she waited for police, the man was able to unlock her door again.
"I was scared at first, but then I got angry," she said.
Dudley-Weldon posted fliers all over her building with his picture and a strong message.
"I'm locked and loaded," she said. "If anyone wants to try and get in here they have a risk of being shoved and I don't want to have ever done that to protect myself but if push comes to shove I wouldn't think twice."
Arlington County Police say the 22-year-old man has been charged with unlawful entry. He also lives in the building and reportedly told officers that he went into the wrong unit.
However, Dudley-Weldon says the door was locked and that his explanation just doesn't add up.
"It's a violation. This is my home and my safe space," she said. "Whether he did anything to me or not he should have never been here."
Police say during the course of the pursuit, the ambulance struck at least 10 vehicles.