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Teen breaks into home and asks sleeping couple for Wi-Fi, police say

Posted at 6:37 AM, Jul 28, 2018
and last updated 2018-07-28 06:37:31-04

A teen broke into a home in California shortly after midnight and woke a sleeping couple to ask for the use of their Wi-Fi network, authorities say.

The incident occurred last weekend in Palo Alto, police say.

The homeowner told police he shoved the 17-year-old suspect down the hallway and out of the front door, then called the police. Officers responded and detained the suspect about a block away.

“Officers determined the suspect had climbed into the home after cutting a screen covering an open window in the side yard,” police said. “The suspect initially lied to police about his identity. The suspect’s motive for entering the home is unknown, but the victims reported that two kitchen knives were missing from a kitchen drawer.”

Police arrested the teen for residential burglary, prowling, and providing false information to an officer. They did not release any information about him because he’s a minor.

Authorities believe the suspect is behind an overnight July 21 incident in which a bike was stolen from a backyard.

In that incident, a woman said she noticed a man outside her bedroom window motioning that he wanted to talk to her.

“The woman notified another resident of the home, an adult in his late teens, and together the two of them confronted the suspect in the side yard,” Police said. “The suspect asked to use their Wi-Fi network because he was out of data. The residents ordered the suspect to leave, and they watched him ride away on a bicycle. They did not notify police at the time.”

The next day, a man living at the home said his bicycle was missing from the backyard.

When they reviewed the surveillance video, they saw the suspect stealing the bike from the backyard, police said.

Authorities found the bike at the same location where they detained the suspect.