Police Investigating Burglary Overnight of Occupied Home
Published on February 09, 2023
Palo Alto, CA – Police are investigating an overnight residential burglary that occurred while two people remained asleep inside.
On Thursday, February 9, 2023, at about 11:14 a.m., our 24-hour dispatch center received a call from a resident in the 2600 block of Cowper Street reporting a burglary that had occurred overnight.
The investigation revealed that the victim, a woman in her eighties, had gone to bed around 10 p.m. last night. When she awoke around 8 a.m. this morning, she discovered her cell phone, tablet computer, and purse had been stolen overnight. She believes she may have left the front door unlocked, though officers were able to locate pry marks on the front door indicating that entry may have been forced. A houseguest, a woman in her twenties, was also at home and asleep overnight. There is no suspect information nor surveillance video.
Detectives are actively investigating this incident. Residential burglaries of occupied homes are rare in Palo Alto; the most recent one occurred in November 2022 but an arrest was made in that case the same day. 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 paloalto@tipnow.org or sent via text message or voice mail to (650) 383-8984.