Whistleblower 9: Woman accused of breaking into an apartment

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A South Charlotte apartment manager bonded out of jail Monday, accused of breaking into a renter's home.

A whistleblower gave Eyewitness News cellphone video that led to 51-year-old Janet Alvarez's arrest.

Alvarez is the property manager at the Southgate apartments in South Charlotte.

Rommell Lino said he was fed up with the burglaries at the Southgate apartments so he pulled out his cellphone, and came to Eyewitness News with what he found.

"I was videoing her," said Lino. "She didn't know I was videoing her," said Lino.

Lino says his boss, Alvarez, used his maintenance keys to gain access to the apartment when the renter wasn't home. He was taping when she went inside one of the apartments.

"She went in and started grabbing a bag and putting stuff in," said Lino.

In the video, Lino said you see Alvarez taking anything from spray bottles, to food in the fridge, and even trying on the tenant's clothes.

"She even stole the cutting board. Ninety-nine cents. Can you believe that? It's unbelievable," said Lino.

Then, while Lino was taping, the renters actually came home.

"The mother and the daughter show up with a key and open the apartment," said Lino.

"I said, something is not right," explained Marisol Ibarra who walked in on Alvarez in her apartment. She says she caught her red handed.

"It's unbelievable because I never thought she was going to do that," said Ibarra.

Channel 9 went to Southgate to get answers on Monday. The General Manager Robert Gibson was not available. We called him on his cell phone but he did not have a comment.

Lino said he reached out to Channel 9 to warn other residents.

"Does she still work there?" asked Eyewitness News. "Yes. She still works there," said Lino.

Police say Alvarez has been charged with breaking and entering, but not stealing. She was also charged with communicating threats against her whistleblower, Rommell Lino.

WSOC