Neighbors Who See Stabbing Kick Ass
Walter Rubincan, Notorious Shoe Bandit, Finally Caught After 20 Years; Foot Fetish, Anyone?
Tuesday, February 2, 2010 at 11:16 am
For 20 years a mysterious burglar had been breaking into homes and apartments near the University of Delaware. He would bypass valuables like electronics and jewelry to steal shoes, photos and young men's underwear in the wee hours of the morning...
Naturally, this really creeped people out.
But for 20 years police couldn't catch the weirdo -- until last month. A student was coming home to his frat house when he saw a fleeing man jump into a yellow Mitsubishi Eclipse and drive away. That led police to the upscale home of 46-year-old Walter J. Rubincan Jr., who would soon confess to his strange crime spree.
When police entered the house, they found thousands of men's shoes. There were so many it took a flatbed truck to haul them away. Police believe he may have burglarized 25 residences in recent years -- at least that they know of. Neighbors say he also stole muddy or wet shoes left on their porches to dry.
He's been charged with 25 counts of burglary, 77 counts of theft and 15 counts of criminal mischief.
Rubincan's ties to the university appear to be through its adult figure skating club, where he's been a member since the 1990s. And he's apparently quite good. He's competed twice in the national championships for adult skaters.
But like Tonya Harding -- only with a shoe fetish -- it now appears his skating days are over.
Tags: Delaware
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