“Shortcut to jail”: Teen allegedly breaks into house while homeowner sitting on front porch

Ashley Paul
·2 min read
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MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A Memphis teen is in jail after allegedly breaking into a South Memphis home while the homeowner was sitting on the front porch.

“For the first few moments, I didn’t know what to think,” homeowner Ronald McClain said. “And then after I realized what happened and I tried to open the door, the door wouldn’t open. He done it so fast, I really didn’t have time to think.”

McClain lives on Trigg Avenue in South Memphis. Last Friday around 10:30 a.m., McClain said he noticed a young man wearing a mask and gloves walk through his yard.

“So I came out and I asked him, I said, ‘Where are you going?’ He said, ‘I’m going through your yard to take a shortcut,” McClain said. “I said, ‘Well, you don’t take a shortcut through my yard. This is private property. You have no business on it.”

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McClain said before he knew it, the man sidestepped him on the front porch and burst through the front door.

“He runs around me, runs inside my house and latches the security door, locking himself inside,” McClain said. “Not realizing there’s no other exit but the front door.”

Mariko Townsend, 18, is charged with aggravated burglary after McClain was able to flag down an officer who called for backup.

With no way out but one, Townsend ultimately surrendered and was taken into custody.

“He was trying to take a shortcut, but he got the shortcut that he didn’t really want,” McClain said. “He got a shortcut to city jail.”

McClain said nothing was taken, but some drawers and closets had been ransacked.

Unfortunately for McClain, this was not the first time he said his house had been broken into this month.

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According to the police report, he came home on April 11 to find someone had climbed through his window and stole more than $1,200 worth of items.

He told WREG that he thinks that the incident could be related to Friday’s burglary.

Right now, police are investigating whether Townsend is responsible for both incidents.

Townsend is currently held on $35,000 bond.

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