Police are investigating a burglary of an occupied home that occurred around 8:45 p.m. last night. The unknown suspect, who likely was scared off by an alarm before anything was stolen, is at large.
On Tuesday, February 22, 2022, at about 8:43 p.m., our 24-hour dispatch center received a call from an alarm company that a burglar alarm was sounding at a residence in the 00 block of Crescent Drive. The resident, a woman in her seventies, separately called police because she had received an alert of the same alarm while she was away from her home. Officers responded immediately and met the woman at the residence.
The investigation revealed that an unknown suspect had broken the glass to one of the home’s locked rear doors and made entry inside. The burglar alarm began to sound immediately. The victim reported that nothing had been stolen from the home, and police believe the alarm likely scared the burglar away. The victim reported that her husband had at home and asleep during the burglary, though he heard the alarm.
This same residence was also burglarized around 5 a.m. on Saturday, November 27, 2021. For more information about that crime, see the news release we distributed about it then. Police do not know if the same suspect or suspects are responsible for both burglaries, nor do police know if the home was intentionally and knowingly targeted a second time.
Residential burglaries of occupied homes are rare in Palo Alto. This is the second such case to occur in 2022; in the first incident from January 18, police arrested the suspect responsible shortly after the crime occurred. For more information about that crime and the arrest, see the news release we distributed about it then.
Most residential burglars commit their crimes during the day, when homes are more likely to be unoccupied and the chance of a confrontation with a resident are correspondingly reduced. If you have a side yard gate, police recommend putting a lock on it to prevent easy unauthorized access to your property. Police also recommend securing all windows and doors overnight. If you choose to hide a key outside your residence in the event you ever get locked out, recognize that involves a potential risk; as an alternative, consider leaving a spare house key with a trusted neighbor. For more crime prevention tips to help you stay safe, visit our Crime Prevention Tips page.
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call our 24-hour dispatch center at (650) 329-2413. Anonymous tips can be e-mailed to [email protected] or sent via text message or voice mail to (650) 383-8984.
