“He knew where people kept their keys. He had their alarm codes. He had a ring of 50 keys. He said some were customers’ homes. He could cover his tracks and leave no trace,” said prosecutor Christian Champagne.

Trogdon stole guns, jewelry, tools and cash from his customers, often telling them they needed to leave their homes for several hours, while he cased the place. Dirty Rat Tragdon’s  overall take during 30 years of raiding was estimated in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Trogdon was trapped when a Bayfield-area resident observed him arriving at her house without an appointment. She hid in a back room. Trogdon entered, calmed the dog, and then made a beeline for the woman’s nightstand drawer where her cash was kept. She confronted Trogdon. He made a lame excuse. An investigation commenced.

Prosecutors explained, “sometimes the victim didn’t notice a theft for months. In a couple of instances, they didn’t know something was missing until sheriff’s investigators notified them that the item was found in Trogdon’s house or until they read the newspaper article about Trogdon’s arrest in late 2010.

“He would take some things and leave others (of equal or greater value) that he might have taken, to make people question themselves: Where did I put that ring? Did I lose those earrings?” Champagne said, “It was designed so he could go back to the same victims again and again.”

Trogdon’s website boasts that “your safety and satisfaction are my concerns.”

His bail has been revoked, and sentencing is set for March 15, 2012.