Palo Alto Police Chase Down Teen Home Burglary Suspects

PALO ALTO, CA -- Three teens who were caught allegedly burglarizing an empty house are now in custody, while authorities are still searching for a fourth suspect, police said Feb. 6.

Police found the suspects after a resident called to report a stranger knocking at her front door around 8:30 pm on Sunday, Feb. 5. Responding officers located four juveniles a block away who had allegedly just attempted to burglarize an unoccupied home.

Police arrested three of the juveniles, while the fourth escaped in a vehicle.

The concerned resident called Palo Alto Police from the 4100 block of Georgia Avenue reporting that a stranger was repeatedly banging on her front door. The resident didn't recognize the stranger, and called police to report suspicious circumstances.

Police say the stranger did not commit a crime at the residence, but when they responded to check the area, an officer saw four juveniles emerging from a side yard of a home in the 600 block of Georgia Avenue which, despite the difference in street numbering, is only one block away from the reporting party.

When the officer went to stop the suspects, two complied, while the other two fled. One those two, one ran to a nearby vehicle and sped away in a blue Honda Odyssey minivan, while officers located the fourth juvenile a couple of blocks away and detained him without incident.

The investigation revealed that the suspects had removed two screens from windows in the rear yard of the home from which the officer observed them leaving. They were not able to make entry into the home, which was unoccupied at the time.

Police arrested the three suspects -- two boys and one girl -- all of whom are 16-year-old San Jose residents. They were charged with attempted residential burglary, a felony, and taken to Santa Clara County Juvenile Hall.

Their names and booking photos were not released by police because they are minors.

Police say the case highlights a common operating practice of residential burglars, where they'll knock on the front door of a home to see if anyone is home. If there's no answer at the door, they'll attempt to gain access to the backyard via an unlocked side yard gate. Once in the backyard and unseen by passersby, they'll try to find a way to break into the residence.

Police recommend that you never open your front door to someone you do not recognize, and instead, just speak to them through the closed door to let them know someone is home. If the situation seems suspicious, call the police as the resident in this case did. Police also recommend placing locks on side yard gates.

Detectives say they're attempting to identify the outstanding suspect, who's only described as a Hispanic male teenager, and are also seeing if these suspects may be connected to any other residential burglaries in Palo Alto or surrounding communities.

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 paloalto@tipnow.org or sent via text message or voice mail to (650) 383-8984.

Tips can also be submitted anonymously through the Palo Alto Police's free mobile app, downloadable at bit.ly/PAPD-AppStore or bit.ly/PAPD-GooglePlay.

Image via Palo Alto Police