Several female USC students said they called police overnight when a homeless man broke into their University Park residence after first “peeking” through a window, and it isn’t the first time he’s been there.
A Los Angeles Police Department spokesperson said the most recent incident was initially reported at 12:07 a.m. Tuesday.
One of the victims had gone outside to call 911, telling authorities that a man was inside the home on the 2700 block of Menlo Avenue, a mostly student-occupied area about two blocks from the USC campus.
Officers arrived and searched the area but did not locate a suspect, the spokesperson said.
The victims told police it wasn’t the first time the man had been there. “We just saw the homeless guy peeking through … but he’s been here like five times,” the victims could be heard telling police officers at the scene.
The students said the intruder first tried to open a window before eventually going through a side door and entering the kitchen.
The suspect was said to be wearing a black shirt and red shorts.
The students shared a Ring image of the man from another incident on Saturday.
USC senior Molly Boland said previous calls to USC’s Department of Public Safety led nowhere.
“This is the first time last night that it escalated to calling the police. Before we just called the Department of Public Safety who did nothing except say it’s public property,” she said. “But actually, he was on our porch, going up to our Ring camera and looking in it, and looking through the windows.”
The Department of Public Safety has confirmed being called to the home on three occasions regarding the man.
Ring video from Tuesday’s incident shows the suspect walking around the property moments before the students say he entered the home.
“It’s twelve girls and I living in there, so it’s become really scary and an issue,” Boland said.
The Los Angeles Police Department determined that there was no evidence of a burglary in Tuesday’s incident and did not take a report.
KTLA’s Annie Rose Ramos questioned USC’s Public Safety Chief Loretta Hill about the situation.
“We’ve seen the Ring camera of this individual going back over and over again. He’s outside their window, he’s on their porch, he’s in their driveway and last night he walks into their home. What do you tell residents?” Annie Rose asked.
“What we would tell them to do is call us because we need to contact that individual. The LAPD, I’m sure, would tell them the same thing,” Hill answered. “The sooner they call us the quicker we can get on site. We can contact this individual and investigate whatever crime that we may have at that time.”