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City Beat
Police say burglaries have been reported in south WG
One woman fought off an attempted sexual assault by suspect in her home
By Kate Carter
San Jose Police are looking for a suspect in connection with a string of home invasion robberies that have been reported recently in the southern Willow Glen and Cambrian areas.
The first of the five burglaries occurred on Oct. 4, when the suspect broke into a home while the owners slept.
In another case on Oct. 6, the suspect tried to sexually assault a woman sleeping in her home near Meridian and Curtner avenues. She fought him off and he made off with her purse.
The suspect has been taking purses, laptop computers, cash and jewelry between midnight and 5 a.m. from homes that have had doors and windows left open, police spokesman Sgt. Steve Dixon said.
The woman who reported the attempted sexual assault described the suspect to a police sketch artist. The suspect is described as a white adult male in his late 20s to early 40s, 5 feet 9 inches to 5 feet 11 inches, 150 to 180 pounds, and wearing a black-hooded sweatshirt and dark pants and gloves. His face is described as "reddened," possibly sunburned.
Police have increased the patrols in the areas of Meridian and Curtner avenues and Jarvis and Jacob avenues, and hope to have the suspect in custody in the next few days, Dixon said.
Dixon said that police think the suspect may be moving from house to house on foot because in one night he hit three residences.
On the night of Oct. 6 and 7, he burglarized a home at 11:57 p.m., another at 4:40 a.m. and another at 5 a.m., police said.
Some residents didn't realize they had been burglarized until they woke up in the morning.
At one home the suspect set off an alarm and fled. The residents woke up and called the police when they found their door open.
Eileen Beckley, who lives on Westpark Drive with her husband and 17-year-old daughter, woke up on Oct. 6, at about 2:30 a.m., in time to see a car drive down her street and turn its lights on after it passed her home, she said.
"I heard something that made me wake up, or sensed something," she said.
The garage door of her home had been left open and the purse she'd left in her car was gone.
Her husband's laptop, wallet and money clip (which was full after a trip to the ATM) were also stolen from the top of their piano just inside their front door.
Beckley said that she couldn't tell if she saw more than one person, but she thinks that there was only one in the car.
"That's pretty damned brazen that they come when we're in the house," she said. "They came in and they left and I'm glad about that."
Beckley also said that her driver's license, credit cards and ATM card were recovered by a woman watering her yard and were returned to her.
Police are advising residents to make sure doors and windows are locked, and to call 911 if there are suspicious people and vehicles nearby. For more home security information and safety tips, call the Community Services Division at 408.277.4133.
Persons with information about this case are asked to call Sgt. Mike Leininger or Detective Chris Perilli at 408.277.4401. To remain anonymous, call Crime Stoppers at 408.947.STOP.
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Willow Glen, California Since 1992
