Taylor Swift News: New Jersey Man Broke Into Pop Singer's Home, Removed Shoes To Be 'Polite'

Authorities in Westerly, Rhode Island, arrested Richard J. McEwan, 26, of Milford, New Jersey, on Friday for breaking into the oceanfront home of pop star Taylor Swift. The man had reportedly removed his shoes to “be polite” while in someone else’s home. He now faces charges of breaking and entering a home without the owner's consent and willful trespassing. He was released on a $5,000 bond but is due in court soon for a felony screening.

Local police were initially dispatched around 5:10 p.m. after a witness called to report seeing someone jumping the fence at Swift’s home. Later, they received an alert from the home’s second-floor motion-sensing security alarm. McEwan tried to run when two officers found him in the home’s foyer, but he was swiftly detained.

“This was an unusual case in the sense that we found him inside the house,” Westerly Police Chief Shawn Lacey told the Westerly Sun. “We've dealt with a number of complaints at the home since it was purchased, but this is the first I can recall of someone actually making it into the house.”

Swift was not home at the time. Initial investigations revealed that McEwan had driven from New Jersey to the home in southern Rhode Island and intended to search the house until he found its famous owner. McEwan was not in possession of any weapons and his motives remain unclear, though it is believed that he did not intend to harm the singer. The Westerly Police are working with the man’s family to determine if he should undergo mental health treatment.

“A pair of orange shoes were found at the doorway where he broke in,” Lacey said. “When officers asked him why he wasn't wearing any, he told them “I was always taught that when you go into someone's home, you have to take your shoes off.’ He said he did it because it was polite.

McEwan is the third man to attempt entry into Swift’s property since July 19.