Waterloo man charged after breaking into neighboring woman's

WATERLOO — A Waterloo man was arrested Wednesday after allegedly using a ladder to break into a woman’s apartment to steal from her, and for making her feel uncomfortable and frightened.

Joseph Jack Roster, 38, was charged with second degree burglary and a first-offense stalking and placed in the Black Hawk County Jail.

According to the criminal affidavit, Waterloo police officers were dispatched Monday at 6:44 p.m. to an apartment in the 600 block of West Second Street.

The complainant told officers Roster recently moved into the unit underneath her and was “behaving strangely toward her.”

He allegedly brought her new locks for her apartment door that would have given him access to her living quarters because they would have used the same key as the common front door. The locks were not approved by the landlord.

On Wednesday at 12:16 a.m., officers were summoned to the same address for a burglary, and found the same victim “crying and visibly in fear of the offender.”

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Roster appeared to have entered the apartment when the woman was in her bedroom.

The front door was opened after it had been locked and from her bedroom she heard someone moving around in the living room.

A ladder was found on the side of the apartment, leading up to her living room window. Items were knocked over, and blood was found. Some of her possessions were believed to have been stolen.

Police verified items had been taken from the woman after executing a search warrant on Roster’s apartment.

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“The offender admitted to having borrowed the ladder from a neighbor and using it to access the victim’s window,” said the criminal affidavit. “The offender admitted to entering the victim’s apartment through the window, taking an item, and placing it in his apartment. The neighbor, who the ladder belonged to, told officers the offender had taken and used his ladder in a similar manner recently, to gain access to the victim’s apartment.”

A preliminary hearing has been set for July 29. Roster has not posted the $25,000 bond.