Cat sitter finds man accused of burglarizing residence in South San Francisco | Native Information

A man accused of burglarizing a South City home while its owners were away on vacation created more work than the cat sitter signed up for after it took the SWAT team to remove the man who allegedly caused around $20,000 in damage to the home, according to the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office.

Levi Joe Smith, 43, of Forestville, is accused of burglarizing a home in South San Francisco Saturday, July 15, after the homeowner’s cat sitter found Forestville inside the home. He allegedly told the sitter she was at the wrong home and he lived there. The sitter called the homeowners, who were on vacation, and they called the police.

When police arrived, they discovered someone had forced entry at the back of the home, they called the landline and Forestville allegedly answered providing a false name. When asked to come out of the residence, he allegedly was brandishing a knife and threatened to kill the officers, which resulted in a two-hour standoff, according to the DA’s Office.

On Monday, July 17, Forestville refused to leave his jail cell for court, and then refused to come to court the next day. The court proceeded without him and his attorney pleaded not guilty. He returns to court July 31, and remains in custody on $75,000 bail. If convicted Forestville could serve up to eight years in state prison, according to the DA’s Office.