Penn Police investigate string of burglaries

Police believe the eight burglaries - which occurred between 38th and 42nd streets - may be related. University Police are investigating several burglaries over the past two weeks that they believe to be related, Det. Commander Tom King said yesterday. Eight burglaries -- all of which occurred in residences between 38th and 42nd streets -- have been reported since September 17, including two Monday night. King expressed cautious optimism that University Police will be able to apprehend the burglar. "We're reasonably optimistic that we're going to arrest this guy," said King, who supervises the department's squadron of eight detectives. "[But] burglaries are a bit more difficult than many crimes to make an arrest because it's a crime of stealth." Besides the fact that all of the burglaries occurred within a few blocks of each other, King said several other factors link them together. In all but one, the burglar gained entrance by prying open window bars on the first floor, most likely with a car jack. With one exception, they also all happened between midnight and 7 a.m. Another connection -- termed "odd" by King -- was that several of the houses reported bicycles being stolen, which King said is somewhat uncommon. He speculated that the burglar is "trying to take items that he can sell quickly to turn around into cash." Most of the stolen items were electronic equipment, including televisions, stereos, laptop computers and video cassette recorders. Residents in two of the burglarized houses reported that a man came to their door before the burglary and asked for someone who didn't live there. The descriptions of the man were similar, King said. King declined to comment on the specifics of the investigation. Most of the victims were students. The eight burglaries were on the 200 block of S. 41st Street on September 17; the 4000 block of Pine Street on September 18; the 3900 block of Baltimore Avenue on September 20; the 3800 block of Walnut Street on September 24; the 300 block of S. 42nd Street on September 25; the 4000 block of Baltimore Avenue on Saturday; and the 3900 block of Sansom Street and the 4000 block of Walnut Street on Monday.