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Washington • Rep. Jason Chaffetz's house was burglarized Sunday while he and his family were at church.

The thief or thieves broke a backdoor window early in the day and ransacked his Alpine home. The crime was discovered by a neighbor, who called the Lone Peak police and the Republican congressman.

"This is a tough one," said Chaffetz, who declined to detail what items were stolen because he did not want to interfere in the investigation.

Lone Peak police Lt. Brian Gwilliam said officers have a few leads, though he added they remain in "the preliminary investigation stage."

Police, who said the swiped items included electronics, do not believe the crime is connected to Chaffetz's political position.

"Right now, it appears to be random, but we are always looking at whether it may be centered on the congressman," Gwilliam said. "We don't think it is at this point."

Lone Peak police have consulted with the United States Capitol Police, which keeps tabs of crimes impacting members of Congress.

This is the third time in Chaffetz's life when someone either broke into his house or was caught in the act.

When he was 7, his family's Northern California home was burglarized, and when he was 13, a man tried to break into his Southern California home while he was there with his mother and siblings.

"That was traumatic. We were hiding in closets," Chaffetz recalled. "It was one of the scariest things in my life."

Twitter: @mattcanham