EXCLUSIVE: Rash of home break-ins reported in San Leandro

SAN LEANDRO, Calif. (KGO) -- Officials are investigating after a rash of home break-ins in San Leandro were reported.

All of these incidents occurred this past weekend between Friday and Monday.

At a community meeting, some people told several stories about would-be burglars peeking into their windows and trying doors only to be thwarted by homeowners who were home at the time.

Home security video shows the suspects as they approach a home on San Leandro's Bradhoff Avenue last Friday morning.

They are seen going through a side gate and break in through a back door. "What really ups the ante's on these is the fact that some of these burglaries occurred while people were at home," San Leandro Police Department Lt. Robert McManus said.

Nobody was home during the first burglary, but later that night in the Bay-O-Vista neighborhood a woman was home alone. "She was surprised by the sound of smashing glass. She was able to flee out of her house and to a neighbor's house to call 911," McManus said.

There were five break-ins or break-in attempts within four days. "I'm really concerned that they're turning our neighborhood into a neighborhood of fear and I don't want people to live in fear because when you live in fear, you do things that you probably shouldn't do. And I don't want people to start shooting at their doors and stuff," Bay-O-Vista resident Dwayne Cornelious said.

Police met with concerned neighbors Wednesday night snd asked them to register surveillance cameras, install lights and make their presence known. "When that doorbell rings do something to let somebody know that you're in your house. Cause a lot of times that scares them away," Cornelious said.

All five cases are similar, police say it could be the same people in the surveillance video.

Police believe the burglars are two or three men in their late teens or early 20's.