Residents Warned in Wake of Break-Ins

The Simi Valley Police Department is warning residents to lock their doors and windows at night following two residential burglaries in which two women were sexually assaulted.

Police Sgt. Bob Gardner said the warning is nothing more than a reminder of something officers always say: “It’s a good idea to lock their doors at night.”

Both incidents occurred in the west end of town during the early morning. The first on Sept. 2 involved a 19-year-old woman who was raped, said Gardner, adding that the victim’s family was home at the time. Thursday, a 23-year-old woman was the victim of an attempted rape at her home in the 1200 block of Royal Avenue, he said. Police have not made an arrest in either case.

In both cases authorities believe the man entered the house through an unlocked door or window.

Such “hot prowls,” in which the intruder enters a home at night while a resident is inside, are not common in Simi Valley, Gardner said. “We have had some other sequences of hot prowls over the past few years. It’s not real common,” he said.