Cash, Gun, and Electronics Stolen From Home in Woodside

Make sure to lock your doors and windows, officials say.

Four homes were invaded in the past three weeks in Woodside and Portola Valley, leading the San Mateo County Sheriff’s office to warm residents to lock their homes.  

“In some areas, I think people are more apt to leave their cars open, leave their homes unlocked, and, especially if it’s hot out, leave the window open,” said Rebecca Rosenblatt, San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson.

Of the incidents, three were burgled and one was an attempted burglary.

On June 29, a burglar entered a home in the 400 block of Manzanita Way through an un-secured window by removing the exterior screen, according to police reports. Once inside, they stole a 9-millimeter handgun, cash, an iPad and a watch and left the area undetected.

The property is under renovation and has had multiple sub-contractors in the house during the past few weeks, according to sherriff’s office records.

On July 1, residents of a home in the 100 block of Sierra Lane in Portola Valley discovered they had about $1,000 stolen from them. They discovered it was gone after a house cleaner reported that a side door was open and began investigating, according to police reports.

On Monday, a resident of a home in the 100 block of Groveland Street in Portola Valley found a window screen lying on her front deck. When she walked around her home, she found multiple screens removed, according to police reports. She reported that someone also tried to pry into her front door, but nothing appeared to be missing from inside the home.

That wasn’t the case for a resident of the 400 block of Hillside Drive. Someone entered the home through an unlocked open window and stole a computer, an iPad, two iPods and jewelry. The value of the items stolen is approximately $15,700, according to police records. There were no witnesses, but responders located five latent prints at the scene.

All of the burglaries are being investigated, and it is too early to tell if they’re connected, Rosenblatt said.

“We experience burglaries all over the place, so just because these happen at the same time doesn’t necessarily mean they’re related,” Rosenblatt said.  

“It’s possible, but again, at this point, it’s too early to make that determination,” she said. “All I can say is we’re going to investigate all of them, follow any credible leads that we obtain and hopefully find out who’s responsible.”

Rosenblatt said residents can stay protected from burglaries by taking the basic precautionary steps to protecting their belongings.

“The best thing best you can do to keep your own property safe is to lock your doors, lock your windows, lock your car,” she said. “Don’t leave keys where they can easily be found.”