Police are investigating a daytime residential burglary of an occupied home that occurred on Monday morning. The suspect fled upon finding the resident at home. The suspect is unknown and at large.
On Monday, August 14, 2023, at about 11:22 a.m., our 24-hour dispatch center received a call of a residential burglary of an occupied home in the 3100 block of Cowper Street that had occurred about 90 minutes earlier.
The resident, a man in his thirties, reported that he had been at home alone when there was a knock at his front door around 9:40 a.m. Because he was in a virtual meeting for work, he ignored it. A couple minutes later, he heard footsteps inside his home. When he went to investigate, he saw an unknown man standing in his hallway. When the resident called out to him, the man ran out the front door.
The investigation revealed that the suspect had entered the home via an unlocked rear door. The suspect was not able to steal anything from the home before he fled.
The victim described the suspect as an unknown race male of unknown age, wearing all black clothing and a black face mask. No sketch of the suspect will be forthcoming.
Police are actively investigating this incident. There have been no other recent burglaries of occupied homes reported to police in Palo Alto.
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. Many burglars will first knock on the front door in an attempt to see if anyone is home; if you answer, they will often come up with an excuse of why they knocked and then quickly leave. If they do not receive an answer, though, they will often enter the rear yard, where they can then attempt to locate a way into the home free of being witnessed by passersby. When you hear a knock at your front door, police recommend acknowledging you are home by talking to the visitor through the front door without opening it if you are not expecting anyone. If you have a side yard gate, police recommend putting a lock on it to prevent easy unauthorized access to your property. For more crime prevention tips to help you stay safe, including more information on what to do when a stranger comes to your door, visit our Crime Prevention Tips page at www.cityofpaloalto.org/StopCrime.
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.
