A 45-year-old man from the Bay Area, known for his extensive criminal record, was apprehended following a break-in at a sorority house at UC Berkeley. Authorities report that during the incident, he stole food and personal belongings while also reportedly watching female residents as they showered, raising serious safety concerns.
“The incident is understandably both shocking and frightening,” Berkeley Police Officer Byron White shared with the Los Angeles Times. “The mere thought that someone infiltrated the home, entered bedrooms, took underwear, and watched residents in such vulnerable moments is deeply unsettling and compromises personal security, whether or not you were directly affected.”
The Berkeley Police Department confirmed the arrest of Courtney Emile Alford on November 5. Alford was identified as the suspect in the burglary that took place on November 1 at a sorority located on the 2300 block of Warring Street.
According to police reports, at approximately 6 a.m. on November 1, a resident was startled awake to discover an unfamiliar man in her room. The intruder then escaped through a back door. Other residents reported sightings of the same man inside the house starting around 3 a.m.
Police detained a repeat offender accused of unlawfully entering a UC Berkeley sorority house, where he allegedly observed women showering and took personal items. (Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Surveillance footage from the residence showed multiple instances of the suspect entering and exiting the premises up until approximately 6:35 a.m. The video captured him leaving, changing his attire, and returning wearing a ski mask, further indicating premeditated intent.
White noted that because it was a busy Halloween night on UC Berkeley’s Greek Row, security at the sorority house may have been more relaxed than usual. Surveillance video, he said, shows a man resembling Alford moving in and out of the residence for roughly three hours.
Police arrested a 45-year-old Bay Area man for breaking into a UC Berkeley sorority house and watching residents shower while stealing personal items. (Google Maps)
During the investigation, detectives learned that the suspect had stolen food and underwear from a resident’s room and watched women shower in the communal bathroom.
Police say Courtney Emile Alford was arrested for burglarizing a UC Berkeley sorority house, stealing underwear and watching women shower on Halloween night. (Berkeley Police Department)
“We know, at least, at one point, he went into the shower room and was watching the women as they shower,” White told the outlet. “He had also taken some underwear from a room.”
Using surveillance video and FLOCK license-plate-reader technology, detectives with the department’s Sex Crimes Unit identified Alford as the suspect. Based on that evidence, officers obtained an arrest warrant on Nov. 4 and took him into custody the next day without incident.
A search of his Dublin residence uncovered parts of an assault rifle, high-capacity magazines and more than 900 rounds of ammunition, police said.
Following Courtney Alford’s arrest, police recovered high-capacity ammunition magazines, more than 900 rounds of ammunition and parts for an assault rifle from his home. (Berkeley Police Department)
The Alameda County District Attorney’s Office has charged Alford with burglary, prowling/peeking, invasion of privacy, felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, multiple counts of unlawful entry and several criminal enhancements.
Court filings also indicate that Alford faces separate March 2024 charges for lewd acts upon a child under 14, to which he has pleaded not guilty.
Alford, who is well known to law enforcement in Alameda County, is being held at Santa Rita Jail in Dublin on $275,000 bail, records show.
A UC Berkeley school official confirmed the incident occurred at an off-campus sorority house and said the case is being investigated by the City of Berkeley Police Department. The university’s Student Affairs team is in contact with the sorority organization and has offered support resources to affected students.
Public records and the address provided by police identify the house as belonging to Alpha Chi Omega, one of the university’s recognized Greek chapters.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the Alpha Chi Omega sorority and the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office for comment.
Stepheny Price covers crime, including missing persons, homicides and migrant crime. Send story tips to stepheny.price@fox.com.
