Man arrested for breaking into home rented by USC students
A man was arrested on Tuesday for allegedly breaking into a home rented by a group of female USC students overnight.
The students say that he got into their house, located in the 2700 block of Menlo Avenue, a little after midnight Tuesday morning. Though unclear, they say that he may have used a kitchen window or side door to sneak in.
Despite their attempts to contact USC's Department of Public Safety, the man was never detained. That's why they called Los Angeles Police Department to report Tuesday's incident.
Sophia Ignon was studying in the front of the house with two of her roommates when they spotted the man.
"She made direct eye contact with him as he stood in our kitchen," Ignon said. "She and my other roommate just started shrieking."
They called 911 as they ran from the house, but by the time police arrived he had already left.
They say that he's been spotted in the area on several times, sometimes peeking in through their windows and they even had Ring camera footage of him outside of their home on Saturday.
"We're scared to be in our own home," Ignon said. "We all had to like sleep together in a bed, we were up all night. We couldn't fall asleep."
A little before noon on Tuesday, a USC DPS officer told the students that a suspect had been located and taken into custody a few blocks away from their home.
Molly Bolland was in the back of the house when the man broke in. She says that three of the other residents ran to her after he was spotted inside.
"An officer had the picture from this morning, a description of the shorts, shirt and they saw a person that matched that description so they made contact with him," said USC Department of Public Safety Chief Lauretta Hill.
She says that officers were called to the home twice on Saturday for the same man that was lingering in the area, but nothing criminal had occurred at the time so they didn't take any further measures.
Molly Bolland, who was in the back of the house when the man broke in, said she feels relieved that he
\The chief of USC's Department of Public Safety says officers were called to this address twice on Saturday for the same man but nothing criminal was committed at the time.
Molly Bolland says she feels a great sense of relief following the arrest, but that she also feels for the man.
"I do have sympathy for him," Bolland said. "It just seems like he's troubled and he doesn't really seem like he knows what he's doing. ... He was just on the street. That was said to hear."
The suspect, who remains unidentified, was transferred to LAPD, where officers are working to find out who he is and if he has a criminal record.
DPS officers will continue to increase their patrols in the area despite the fact that the suspect has been caught.
