Two arrested in daytime break-in attempt in Pleasanton

Two incidents in one day have prompted Pleasanton police to ask local residents to keep an eye out for suspicious people.

The latest happened around 12:40 p.m. Thursday when a woman near Laurel Creek and Blessing Drive on the city’s northwest side spotted a Silver Acura with a male driver and female passenger acting suspiciously. Police said the woman saw the passenger get out and knock on doors in an apparent attempt to find out if someone was home.

She called police, who stopped the car to learn it was stolen from a house in Oakland, which had been burglarized. The driver, 20-year-old Hayward resident Loren Campbell, was on parole for burglary. The female passenger, a 16-year-old from Oakland, was not identified because of her age.

Both suspects were arrested and were picked up later by Oakland police.

Pleasanton police Lt. Jeff Bretzing said the incident underscores the need for people to watch out for both their own homes and those of their neighbors. He said daytime burglaries are a growing problem.

“These individuals will knock on residents’ doors, and when there’s no answer, they’ll attempt to enter, either through the front door or around the back,” Bretzing said. “What’s disconcerting is that this is happening when people are in their homes.”

He said often people won’t answer the door when it’s someone they don’t know, and that can lead to a break-in. Bretzing said the best approach is for a person to announce that he or she is home, but that they’re not going to answer the door.

Bretzing said people shouldn’t hesitate to pick up the phone right away.

“We want people to always call in suspicious activities,” Bretzing said. “We’ve solved a tremendous amount of crimes based on information we’ve received from residents in a community.”

The incident in Pleasanton was the second that day. Earlier in San Ramon, three teens were arrested after similar suspicious activities, knocking on doors and ringing doorbells to see if anyone was home. Two of the three had escaped from a juvenile justice facility in San Joachim and stolen a car in Tracy. San Ramon police stopped the stolen car and later arrested the other two, who were hiding inside Target. The store was evacuated at about 8:30 a.m. and the teens were found and arrested.

There are neighborhood watch groups in different areas of Pleasanton and, Bretzing said, anyone interested in setting up a new group should call the Police Department at 931-5100.