After reporting last week about the alarming rise of home break-ins in the neighborhood and one attempted burglary in particular, we're here to report on another.

To recap: a man of medium build, mid-50s, less than 6' tall and often with a beanie, and (probably) one younger man are making the rounds in the neighborhood and breaking into homes. They've been spotted and thwarted in the middle of the day, when most people are away at work, and work by jimmying simple front door locks ("thumb locks," the kind built into a doorknob and frequently used on shared or common front doors). The last known incident occurred in a four-unit Victorian at Oak and Ashbury just after 10 AM this week. A resident, who was home alone, heard someone trying the front door and leaned over the balcony to see if one of her neighbors was having trouble with the front lock. By the time she'd looked over, the man was already through the door and in the entry hall. When she confronted the man who'd entered the building, he claimed (successively, as he realized that each excuse for being in the building wasn't flying) to be looking for a resident, to be building maintenance, and to be helping someone move. He asked the resident's name and stood in the hallway petting her dog. Once she got her own door locked and the man was outside, she said, "he didn't run away, he stayed in front of my house and pretended to talk to someone on the phone and tell someone our address." After calling the police, the resident called Robert's Hardware, who sent someone out in ten minutes to change her lock and install a deadbolt. We're recommending deadbolt installation for people who don't have it: it's easy, and a significant deterrent to people who're able to slip a thumb lock with a strip of plastic. This is a video of last week's burglar, who does loosely match the description given in the latest incident. It's a better identification of him than the still shots that have been circulated so far.