By Khalida Sarwari
Palo Alto police released surveillance photos Friday of a man suspected in a series of recent nighttime commercial burglaries.
The most recent burglary occurred early morning on Wednesday at Ramona’s Pizza, located at 2313 Birch St. Police said the suspect entered the business and stole cash and a bicycle.
The burglaries date back to 2009 and police believe a single person is responsible for at least 10 burglaries. The person is suspected in commercial burglaries in several other cities as well, including Monterey, Los Altos, Mountain View, San Mateo, and as far as Beverly Hills.
The suspect appears to be singling out small restaurants and salons and he typically enters the business through the rear door or window during the early morning hours, according to police.
Officers have not yet been able to identify the suspect.
Police are asking business owners to take precautions, including locking all doors and windows overnight, leaving exterior lights turned on and using installed burglar alarm systems and installed video surveillance systems.
Businesses are encouraged to report suspicious activity by calling 911 or police at (650) 329-2413.
Anyone with information about the burglaries may call Palo Alto burglary detectives at (650) 329-2128. Anonymous tips can be e-mailed to paloalto@tipnow.org and anonymous voicemails and text messages can be sent to (650) 383-8984.
