UCSC Student Snaps Photos of Man Allegedly Trying To Break Into Her Home

Santa Cruz police are looking for a man who attempted to enter the home of a 19-year-old Santa Cruz woman and University of California at Santa Cruz student on Tuesday, police said.

At about 9:10 p.m. the woman noticed a man looking through a window of her home in the 100 block of Palo Verde Terrace, according to police. Police said the suspect had removed some boards to a fence surrounding a secure patio area and was inside the patio area looking through the window.

The man opened the window and reached inside to enter the residence when the victim screamed and pointed a flashlight at the man, according to police.

The suspect then tried to enter through a sliding glass door and failed, police said. Police said the victim fled her home and confronted the suspect inside the patio area and took several photos of him. The suspect then fled the area, police said. Police are describing the suspect as a 30- to 40-year-old man, 6 feet 1 inch tall with a medium build, dark brown hair and a dark brown goatee.

He was wearing a dark brown baseball cap, blue and black flannel jacket and a white t-shirt underneath, according to police.

Police said it appears the man removed his cap and jacket before entering the patio area. Santa Cruz police are looking into similar cases in the last four to six months in Palo Verde Terrace, Peach Terrace and Castillion Terrace, according to police.

Police said the victims in the other cases only saw the suspect’s feet or the top of their head and not the suspect’s face. Santa Cruz police are distributing fliers in the area to alert neighbors of the case and ask for their help in identifying the suspect.

Police are also looking for other victims.

--Bay City News

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