A cluster of incidents where thieves are breaking and entering while residents are home occurred in NoPa recently. Three of these so-called "hot prowls" took place in a matter of days, with police still looking for one or more perpetrators.

Last week we received a tip from Tyler C., who shared with us that his home at Turk and Masonic was broken into on February 27th, while he was home. "The guy was literally 20 feet away, just around a corner so I couldn't see him (I was in the living room, he was in bedroom, stealing shit - no clue how I didn't hear anything)." The thief took two MacBooks, wallets and musical equipment. 

Luckily for Tyler, his neighbors and SFPD, the thief made one key mistake—he used Tyler's credit card for a cab ride. Tyler tracked down the Square receipt, searched for the cab driver's name on Facebook, and sent him a message. Two minutes later he got a call, with a full description of the suspect and where he was dropped off. Thanks to the cab driver's keen eye and video, the cops have a good visual to work off of. 

On the same evening the thief roof-hopped to another house next door, also robbing them of belongings.  The victim told officers that her credit card was being used in the the Tenderloin. Officers responded and searched for the suspect, but were unable to locate him. 

Several days later on March 3rd, another hot prowl took place in the neighborhood. According to information from SFPD's daily crime reports, a home on the 1700 block of McAllister Street was broken into at 2:30 in the morning. The victim heard her back door opening, and called security. When she returned to her apartment she noticed her cell phone was missing. 

At the moment all investigations are still ongoing. In the meantime, stay safe Hoodline readers, and consider locking exterior doors even when you're home.