Rash of Recent Home Burglaries, Prowlers in El Cerrito

By Laura Dixon, Bay City News Service

Police in El Cerrito are stepping up their patrols of residential neighborhoods in response to recent reports of burglaries and prowlers.

Investigators received reports of several home burglaries on Friday and Saturday and one report of prowling, according to police.

Sometime between the hours of 10 a.m. and 8 p.m. Friday, a burglar entered a home in the 10000 block of San Pablo Avenue through an unlocked  door and made off with electronics, according to police.

Police said a second burglary occurred sometime between 6:50 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. at a home in the 700 block of Everett Street, less than a mile  away, where someone entered through a window and stole electronics and jewelry.

Around 8 p.m. that same day, a woman in the 1200 block of Lawrence Street, near Castro Elementary School, was awakened by strange sounds coming  from outside of her home. She then saw a man peering through her window with  a flashlight, police said.

The woman screamed, scaring off the suspect, whom she described as an Asian man with short hair and a stocky build, according to police.

Police said it was the third prowling-related incident reported over the past month.

On Saturday between 9:45 a.m. and 12:40 p.m., someone used a brick  to break a rear window of a home in the 1400 block of Elm Street. Once inside, the suspect snatched a MacBook laptop, two PlayStations and an Xbox 360.

Police said officers have noticed a recent increase in early evening residential burglaries -- a noticeable difference from the usual daytime burglaries.

Both undercover and marked patrols are under way in El Cerrito's residential neighborhoods in an effort to apprehend evening thieves. 

Residents are advised to be "extra vigilant" when leaving home in the evening and walking around at night, and to report suspicious activity to police.

See also "Police Arrest Suspected Burglar Shown in Home Break-in Video.

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