Sophie Ignon was studying for a midterm at her dining room table a little after midnight when she and two of her roommates heard a door open.
“[My roommate] heard the door open, the side door open, and she peeked over, you know, assuming it was just one of our other roommates,” she said. “And that’s when she saw him.”
The break-in occurred on the 2700 block of Menlo Avenue. Video footage captured by the residents’ Ring doorbell shows a man in a T-shirt and shorts pacing in front of their front door directly before entering their home.
Ignon, a senior journalism and theater student, said that her roommates then gathered and locked themselves in a bedroom before calling 911. LAPD officers responded shortly after and cleared the residence.
“He’d come by before. We knew he was around. We knew he was most likely homeless, but it never crossed my mind that he would actually step foot into our house,” Ignon said. “The reality of that is, it’s shocking.”
DPS Captain Edgar Palmer said that officers took the suspect into custody Tuesday and took him to an LAPD station for a mental health evaluation. Palmer added that the suspect is now in a healthcare facility.
Residents of the home, 12 USC students, said they had reported the alleged intruder twice to DPS on Saturday after he trespassed onto their balcony. He returned to their home after being removed by officers after the first call, said senior journalism student Cierra Morgan, who also lives in the home.
Morgan said officers who came Saturday told her that there was nothing they could do.
“They’re basically just telling us, this is what you voted for here in California, like there’s nothing we can do about it,” Morgan said.
The break-in early Tuesday was similar to an incident in April on the 700 block of W 30th Street. Students said then that they were concerned with the response from LAPD and DPS after an alleged burglar broke into an apartment building twice within multiple hours. Both law enforcement agencies said the other was responsible for responding, leading to confusion for residents.
Palmer said that for Tuesday’s break-in, there was nothing DPS had the authority to arrest the suspect for, since he did not steal anything from the property. Trespassing is a misdemeanor; however, Palmer said police would have had to have caught the man in the act to arrest him.
Morgan says she hopes that the ongoing break-ins lead to increased patrols going forward on Menlo Avenue. “It’s a big block for student housing, and you don’t really see DPS officers around here,” she said.
Ignon said she would also prefer to see increased patrols on Menlo, more of the security staff known as “yellow jackets,” and for law enforcement to take students’ concerns more seriously.
Palmer suggests taking precautions like drawing shades and shutting windows. Ignon added a last crucial piece of advice for students.
“Lock your doors,” she said. “Lock your doors.”