 |
|
|
|
|
City Beat
Concerned police nab WG man for burglaries in West SJ
Suspect could be connected to more than 20 cases with 'sexual overtones'
By Kate Carter
San Jose Police Department officers arrested a Willow Glen man Aug. 16 suspected of more than 20 cases of burglary and prowling in the Gardner area and West San Jose between March and July, that police say have "sexual overtones."
The district attorney's office on Aug. 17 charged Hector Leanos, 23, with 37 criminal counts, including burglary, prowling, peeping and attempted rape. He was arraigned Aug. 21 with bail set at $50,000 and remains in custody at the Santa Clara County Jail.
Leanos was identified June 5 when police responded to a 5: 30 a.m. call of suspected peeping at a residence on Broadway Avenue, police spokesman Sergeant Steve Dixon said. A man living there saw Leanos looking through a window into the bathroom where his wife was showering. Leanos fled, and police arrived and found him in another person's residence, Dixon said. He was arrested, charged with attempted burglary and booked into the county jail. He later posted bail and was released.
Several burglaries were reported later in June in nearby areas of San Jose, including one on June 21 on Tolworth Drive, Dixon said. Most of the incidents occurred between 11:30 p.m. and 5 a.m. at the residences of single women living alone, or women living with a husband or boyfriend who was absent or in another room, he said. In some cases property was stolen; in others the intruder entered a bedroom. In at least one case, the intruder touched a woman while she was in bed with her boyfriend.
"We think there were sexual overtones to all these burglaries," Dixon said.
Civilian Crime Analyst Suzanne Arguelles, who works for the SJPD's Sexual Assault Investigations Unit, determined similarities between 22 calls in the vicinity from Mar. 10 to July 26 and found many of them centered around Leanos' residence on Harrison Street.
"In many of the cases, this guy matched the description," Dixon said.
Officers served a search warrant of Leanos' residence Aug. 16 and discovered items stolen from the burglaries in West San Jose, as well as items from burglaries in South San Jose.
|
|
|
|
Willow Glen, California Since 1992
