Man charged with prowling outside apartment building in Glendale

Prosecutors this week charged a 21-year-old man with prowling in Glendale after a woman saw him twice walking toward her sibling’s home back door and then fleeing when he was seen, officials said.

Jose Cera was charged with one misdemeanor count of prowling around the woman’s home on Monday, according to a Los Angeles County Superior Court criminal complaint.

Cera has not been connected to other prowling cases in the city, but police have distributed his information and details about the arrest to other law enforcement agencies that have had similar cases, Glendale Police Sgt. Tom Lorenz said.

“A lot of times people don’t report it,” he said of prowling cases. “People need to call us.”

Cera was arrested about 10:45 p.m. Monday after the woman told police she and her sister had just arrived home in the 200 block of North Chevy Chase Drive and walked to the back door. That’s when she spotted him near the back door, appearing to be avoiding the motion-activated lights, police said.

As Cera reached the door, she turned on the porch light, which prompted him to run away, according to police.

She told police Cera was there the previous morning at about 1:30 a.m., but didn’t notify police because he ran off when the motion sensor lights were activated.

When officers stopped Cera soon after the incident outside the apartment building, he told them he was on parole for burglary, according to police.

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