A resident at a Sonoma senior apartment complex hid under her bed covers early Sunday morning after she says a man climbed through her bedroom window and began looking around her room. Police arrived near the Oregon Street complex at about 2:45 AM, less than 20 minutes after the woman’s initial 911 call, and arrested 25-year-old El Verano resident Angel Mendoza-Saavedra on suspicion of felony residential burglary and a probation violation.
According to The Sonoma Index-Tribune, the resident called 911 shortly before 2:30 AM to report that a man had entered her apartment and was inside her bedroom. Police received one report of a break-in at Cogir of Sonoma, the senior living facility located on Oregon Street that offers independent and assisted living with tailored personal care services, according to Cogir USA. The woman was not touched by the suspect, and she told officers she hid under her bed covers as the intruder looked around her room.
How Officers Say the Suspect Got In
Per the Index-Tribune’s account of the incident, the suspect entered the first-floor unit by removing a window screen and climbing through an unlocked window. Police Sgt. Robert Crabb said the suspect only looked around the room and the bedroom closet before leaving the bedroom. The living room was left with items strewn about it, per Crabb.
Security video reviewed by investigators reportedly showed the suspect was first on the property at about 1:15 AM, and surveillance footage showed the man trying various doors and windows before finding a way inside. Police said they were not aware of any other incidents on the property.
Suspect’s Account and Arrest
Officers found a man matching the suspect’s description near the apartment complex, and Mendoza-Saavedra was taken into custody. He denied entering the apartment when questioned, telling officers he had been at a bar in Sonoma earlier that night, that an acquaintance had dropped him off nearby, and that he was staying about a quarter-mile from the Cogir complex, the report states. A Cogir official declined to comment about the incident when reached today.
Legal Exposure Under California Burglary Law
Under California Penal Code Sections 459 and 460, burglary of an inhabited residential dwelling or senior apartment unit is classified as first-degree burglary, a felony carrying a state prison sentence of two, four, or six years, according to Wallin & Klarich. Notably, state law does not require forced entry through a broken lock to establish burglary. Under California jury instructions governing Penal Code Section 459, penetrating a building’s outer boundary — which explicitly includes removing or passing through a window screen — legally satisfies the entry element of the crime, per Justia…