The hot summer weather may be to blame for an increase in residential “hot prowl” burglaries in West Covina, in which intruders take advantage of unsecured doors and windows to burglarize homes in the middle of the night, officials said.
Six such crimes have been reported in the city between June 21 and Aug. 2, West Covina police Cpl. Rudy Lopez said in a statement.
All but one occurred at night while residents were sleeping in their homes, the corporal said.
“The common factor in each of these burglaries is that there was an unsecured window or door that the suspect used to enter the location,” Lopez said. Five of the crimes were reported between 2 and 7 a.m., while one of the burglaries took place about 1:30 p.m., police said.
“The current warm weather is prompting many residents to leave their windows open,” Lopez said. “This may be the reason for the increase in nighttime burglaries.”
In some cases, people didn’t realize anyone had been in their home until they woke up and found items missing, Lopez said. Other times, residents saw the intruders.
No injuries have been reported as a result of the break-ins, officials said.
Property stolen in the burglaries includes items such as purses, iPods, cash and jewelry.
“These burglaries have occurred throughout the city, leaving no apparent crime pattern to work with,” Lopez said.
The burglaries were reported:
*June 21, between 2 and 6:30 a.m., in the 600 block of South Almirante Drive. Access was gained through an unlocked front window.
*June 20-21, between 11 p.m. and 7:30 a.m., in the 600 block of South Citrus Avenue. Access was gained through an open living room window.
*July 29, between 4:30 and 5 a.m., in the 1000 block of South Hillborn Avenue. Access was gained through an open living room window.
*July 30 at 4:10 a.m. in the 1800 block of East Arizona. Access was gained through an open living room sliding door.
*July 30 at 1:30 p.m. in the 900 block of East Francisquito Avenue. Access was gained through an open kitchen window.
*Aug. 2, between 2and 5:40 a.m., in the 1500 block of East Newcrest Drive. Access was gained through an open upstairs bedroom window.
In the daytime burglary, police said, a suspect knocked on the front door of the victim’s home, but the resident did not answer.
The burglar then climbed a wall to enter the house through a second-story kitchen window before being spotted by the resident.
[BODY]West Covina is not the only San Gabriel Valley police department to report issues with so-called “hot prowl” burglaries.
Arcadia police are investigating two similar overnight burglaries reported in their city July 26 in the 100 block of Diamond Street, and July 28 in the 600 block of West Walnut Avenue, Arcadia police Sgt. Tom Le Veque said. The crimes were reported at 4:50 a.m. and 11 p.m., respectively.
Arcadia police believe the same burglar is responsible for both of their break-ins, however, officials said there was not enough information to determine whether the Arcadia and West Covina crimes are linked.
“In these types of situations, we always try to look for links, which is what we’re doing in this case,” Lopez said. “At this point, we don’t have enough information to go on to say if they’re linked.”
While there are similarities in the way the crimes were carried out, there were also some noticeable differences observed, Lopez said, such as the areas and times of day when the crimes took place.
The intruder in Arcadia was described as a white man, about 5 feet 10 inches tall, wearing a white T-shirt and basketball shorts.
Arcadia and West Covina police have issued warnings advising residents to be cautious and secure their homes at night.
“The West Covina Police Department is advising its residents to be aware of this crime trend,” Lopez said. “Be aware of the status of your home before going to bed. If you must leave a window open, secure it in a way that it cannot be opened any further to allow someone to enter.
Locking side gates to prevent access to the backyard and sensor-activated outdoor lighting may also serve as good deterrents, police added.