Police Investigating Late-Night Basement Prowler

Published on April 05, 2023

Palo Alto, CA – Police are investigating a case from Sunday night where a resident interrupted a man prowling in the basement of his home.  The unknown suspect fled and is at large.

On Sunday, April 2, 2023, at about 11:46 p.m., our 24-hour dispatch center received a call from a resident of a home in the 800 block of University Avenue reporting a suspicious circumstance.  The victim, a man in his eighties, reported that a man had just run out of his basement, which had an exterior entrance at the rear of his house that had been unlocked.  Police responded immediately but did not locate the suspect.

The investigation revealed that the victim and his wife were at home when he heard noises coming from their basement.  The victim went to investigate, thinking that an animal may have gotten in from the outside.  He checked the basement and did not see anything out of the ordinary, but as he went to lock the exterior door, a male suspect ran up the stairs from inside the basement and fled eastbound on University Avenue.  The victim called police.  The victim did not report any property missing from the basement.

The victim described the suspect as a Hispanic male between 25 and 30 years of age with a medium build, about 5 feet 10 inches tall with short black hair with a mustache and possibly a beard.  The victim said the suspect was wearing all black clothing.

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call our 24-hour dispatch center at (650) 329-2413.  Anonymous tips can be e-mailed to paloalto@tipnow.org or sent via text message or voice mail to (650) 383-8984.