If the summer heat is prompting you to leave your windows open at night, you might want to think twice, as burglaries are spiking again in town, police said.
Since the beginning of June, a “significant increase” in residential burglaries has prompted the Palo Alto Police Department to issue a warning to residents. There have been 20 burglaries in the last six weeks, police said Monday, and most of them have occurred on the north end of town.
Most of the burglars have entered through unlocked or unsecured rear doors and windows, police said, and a number of arrests have been made.
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In the middle of the night between July 15 and 16, police found two juveniles and an adult breaking into cars on the 1400 block of Edgewood Drive. They were all arrested on theft charges, and police are looking into whether they may be connected to residential burglaries.
Early during the morning of July 14, a burglar entered through an unlocked door of a residence on the 1000 block of Tanland Drive while the inhabitants were inside sleeping. A few days later, police were investigating a separate case and found a connection between the two crimes. Michael Holden, 36, the suspect in both crimes, was staying with a friend in the apartment complex where both break-ins occurred. He was later arrested at Stanford Hospital on a Santa Barbara County warrant, police said.
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Police went to the residence where Holden was staying and found all the property that had been stolen in the overnight burglary. He now faces burglary and possession of stolen property charges.
Anyone who notices suspicious behavior or has information about a burglary is encouraged by police to call dispatch at 650-329-2413, email paloalto@tipnow.org, or send a text message or voicemail to 650-383-8984.
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