Man caught on SLO doorbell camera to serve jail time

December 6, 2016
Michael Dean Sutton

Michael Dean Sutton

A 38-year-old man who was recorded lurking outside a woman’s San Luis Obispo home in the middle of the night will spend about a half-year in jail. Michael Dean Sutton, 38, is due to be sentenced on Thursday.

At about 2:34 a.m. on Oct. 22, a surveillance camera captured Sutton lurking by the front door of the woman’s home. He was wearing gloves, a light-colored shirt, a baseball cap and appeared to be holding a syringe in his mouth.

The video shows Sutton checking the door handle and acting in a suspicious manner. Eventually, Sutton noticed the camera. He then placed a finger over the lens and wiped away debris before leaving the area.

“Ring,” a virtual doorbell app, notified the woman inside the home while Sutton was lurking outside. Initially, the woman assumed the man was a lost, drunk college student. Later that morning, she watched the surveillance footage and reported the incident to police.14702272_10104982999066757_6013780787854938979_n

The surveillance footage then circulated online and in local media. Officers arrested Sutton on Oct. 25.

On Nov. 8, Sutton pleaded no contest to felony attempted burglary. Sutton’s plea agreement calls for him to serve about 180 days in jail, as well as an unspecified amount of time on probation.

The attempted burglary conviction will count as a strike under California’s three strikes law.

Court records state a sealed protective order has been issued over Sutton’s case.

Sutton has remained in San Luis Obispo County Jail since his Oct. 25 arrest.


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Everyone keeps saying he had a syringe in his mouth, but this was not in any police report. I’ve seen the video and that does not look like a syringe. Also what idiot would walk around in a syringe in their mouth – it is dangerous and pointless? If he had a syringe, he would keep it in his pocket. Also, the police searched his house for syringes and checked his purchase records to see if he bought any, and if they found anything that would have been brought up in court, and it was not.


The most likely explanation is usually the right one and it is most likely not a syringe, even though that doesn’t match up with the terror narrative that the public/media has built up around this guy.


People were also saying he had latex gloves on, but you can clearly see they are made of fabric when he wipes down the camera.


“Court records state a sealed protective order has been issued over Sutton’s case.”

Now what’s that all about?


Yes, I also am curious about this whole thing. I would think that an “attempted burglary” rap would be pretty easy to beat; however, the gloves and syringe are a potentially telling of something else.


This is so strange. About two weeks ago a pair of young men came up the driveway at 1:40 in the morning and started to (what sounded like) put a key in the lock of our front door. We heard them right off, as we have a small house and the driveway is right by our bedroom. I too thought they were drunk Cal Poly students. Are we stereotyping or ? Anyway, both my hubby and I stood in the hall where they couldn’t see us, and told them they had about a minute to leave or the cops would be called. After a couple of more minutes, and more verbal warnings they finally left. I looked out the window as they went back down the driveway. There was a car with both the front and back passenger doors open, and the dome light was on. The driver stood ready to leave in a hurry. Later, we realized they meant harm. And, I am looking into getting just one of those doorbell cameras. The scary part in retrospect, is this would have been a home INVASION. They did not care if they did us harm. You could tell, they were on the other side of the door “thinking about” going through with their plan.


Too bad so many of us have had experiences with drunk Cal Poly students. I have new respect for the apparently worsening crime rate in SLO. Take care fellow citizens. Now I will call the cops first and ask later. Just too trusting.


This is why you should be armed with a firearm. There is/was only a thin pane of glass between you, your spouse and them. Had they decided to come in, the police would have been far too late. It is you and your families lives on the line, don’t depend only on the police to protect them.


Did he get good time credit for housekeeping? I thought it was nice of him to clean the lens.


I think it’s highly unlikely that this was his first act like this. In the video he looks like a repeat offender even if this is the first time he got caught.


Gut feeling? He is a true psycho and likely would have done much more than burglarize.


Exactly. This was no burglary.


He was wearing gloves and appeared to be holding a syringe in his mouth.


So he will be given just enough jail time to rethink his mistakes and improve on his predatory skills. A syringe and gloves proves premeditation. He will be back, next time worse. The system clearly is not sending a tough enough message. This light sentence exposes the reason dangerous preditors are given a pass to move up to more serious crimes. If not for the camera this guy would not be caught. In the future when he does reoffend the press will be asking how he “fell through the cracks”. The signs couldn’t be more clear.