'Knock-Knock' Break-In Attempt: Trio Nabbed In Murrieta

MURRIETA, CA – Three males from Los Angeles were arrested after a Murrieta resident reported a "knock-knock" break-in attempt Wednesday at her home on Lenox Lane.

The Murrieta Police Department was called at about 2 p.m. by the woman who said that after someone knocked at her front door, two individuals tried opening the rear door to her house on the 24300 block of Lenox, the department said. The caller said the suspects fled in a waiting vehicle after she yelled at them.

Responding officers located and stopped on Monroe Avenue near Los Alamos Road a vehicle that matched the description provided by the resident. Two of the three male occupants in the car were wearing clothing similar to the woman's description, police said.

A records check on the vehicle's occupants identified Jeremiah Sosa, 20, as being on probation for vehicle theft with previous arrests for carjacking, vehicle theft and burglary, police said. Also in the car, two juveniles, 17 and 16, were identified as the males who attempted to break into the caller's home.

The minors, whose names were not released, were were arrested for suspcion of attempted burglary and booked into Juvenile Hall. Sosa was arrested for alleged conspiracy, burglary and contributing to the delinquency of minors and booked into the Cois Byrd Detention Center, police said.

The Murrieta Police Department said currently there is "a significant increase" in daytime residential burglaries across Southern California, with criminals often using the common "knock-knock" technique -- knocking on the front door and when there is no answer, force entry into the home through a back door or window.

"If you are home and an unknown person knocks on your front door, acknowledge the person by answering the door or speaking to them through the door," the department said. If you feel that the person has nefarious intentions, call police, the agency added.

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--Images via Murrieta PD