Neighbors furious after ‘Sunday Bandit’ is charged again with unlawful entry
Published at | Updated at
SALEM — A man previously caught on camera masturbating and stealing clothes in a teenager’s bedroom has been charged again with misdemeanor unlawful entry and violating probation.
Neighbors nicknamed Cody Polatis the “Sunday Bandit” after he repeatedly broke into several homes while residents were attending Mormon church services.
Now it appears he’s at it again, law enforcement officials say.
Polatis has been on probation since serving jail time for previous incidents, and on Sunday, a Madison County woman called police after returning home from church and seeing Polatis’ car in her driveway.
“She told her kids to stay in the car while she went inside,” Madison County Sheriff Chief Deputy Bart Quayle tells EastIdahoNews.com. “She didn’t see him in the house but went back outside, where she saw him getting into his vehicle. He told her his animals had recently died, and he came to her house to see her animals.”
A bed belonging to the woman’s daughter appeared to be disheveled, according to officials. Madison County Sheriff detectives began investigating, and Polatis was charged Tuesday.
“I’m just seething,” one neighbor, who asked not to be identified, tells EastIdahoNews.com. “We have waited a long time to see this little puke go away. But somehow he keeps sliding right through the system. It’s going to escalate to a rape. Then what?!”
Criminal history
In 2015, Polatis pleaded guilty in Fremont County to misdemeanor unlawful entry and stalking.
RELATED | Disgusting behavior of ‘Sunday Bandit’ has neighbors worried
In May 2016, while on probation, Polatis pleaded guilty to a Madison County unlawful entry charge after he broke into Kent Sanderson’s home. The Sandersons told EastIdahoNews.com he entered at least seven times over the course of several months and took more than $1,300 worth of clothing.
The family installed a hidden camera in their daughter’s bedroom and caught Polatis masturbating over her bed. Polatis was originally charged with a felony in this case, but that charge was pleaded down to misdemeanor charge.
Polatis was also charged in November 2016 with indecent exposure after being caught masturbating while looking at pornography while sitting in his vehicle outside of a Rexburg surgical center. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 180 days in jail.
If found guilty of the new charges, Polatis could be ordered to serve additional time in jail for each of his previous charges. A new court date had not been set as of Tuesday afternoon.