VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — It's a situation that can happen to anyone.
A Virginia Beach woman is feeling uneasy after an employee with a contracting company, hired through her apartment complex, was caught on camera rummaging through her stuff.
Emily Johnson tells News 3 she put in a maintenance order to get her bathtub repaired in her home.
The contractor did more than just repair her bathtub, Johnson said.
"We left our home, turned our security camera on and we started getting alerts," she said. "We go look on our phones and we see a man going through our video games, our drawers, our closets and we immediately was like that's an invasion of our privacy."
Johnson said her family had been told to leave the home for 4 to 5 hours due to toxic chemicals, while the workers repaired their bathtub.
"He was within inches of that camera and it was not hidden, it's a big camera and he noticed it," Johnson said. "He turns around and looks straight at the camera but then he keeps going and looking through stuff like he doesn't care."
News 3 reporter Kelsey Jones reached out to the company, The Tub Guys LLC to get answers.
The owner says he's aware of this incident and the employee has since been fired.
The owner's attorney Andrew Pittman with Pittman Law, P.C. sent the following statement.
"The Tub Guys LLC strives to provide its customers with excellent service and high quality products. We hold our employees to the highest levels of customer service and standards of ethical conduct. We take this matter very seriously. The individual in question was acting outside the scope of his employment, and in violation of our company’s policies and expectations. Upon learning of the incident, we took immediate action, and the individual is no longer employed by our company. We deeply regret any inconvenience to the affected customer. We have reached out to her and have been in close contact with her to personally address any concerns she may have."
"Who knows how many homes this person went into," Johnson said. "We just don't know," said Johnson.
Johnson did call the police. No one has been charged in this case, however, officials say they're investigating the matter.
In the meantime, Johnson is sharing a message with her fellow neighbors.
"Be careful who you let into your home, especially if you're not there," she said. "Make sure you have security measures up."
Virginia Beach police say that if you don't have security cameras in your home, document all items of significant value, write down serial numbers, and take pictures of how you leave your items and compare later to see if they have been moved or touched.
In addition, you may want to place your expensive items like jewelry in a safe or take them with you.
