SAN DIEGO - Residents in Bankers Hill are concerned after they say a prowler has been scaling rooftops and looking in tenants’ windows.
"You've got a guy like this who's preppy, crawling on roofs, looking in windows," said Leo Wilson, a neighbor and head of the Uptown Community Planning Group.
Posters now plastered throughout the area are warning neighbors to stay alert. The fliers feature surveillance images of the unidentified man.
"We don't know what this guy wants to do," Wilson said. “Are we dealing with a peeping Tom? Somebody who's casing places to steal or could we have a potential sexual predator? And that's what's most disturbing about this."
The prowler was last seen this week on 5th Avenue, between Hawthorn and Ivy streets. He is described as a white man, in his late 20s to early 30s, with a clean-cut preppy look, black jacket and a slight limp in his right leg.
It's a different profile, Wilson said, from the typical homeless crimes.
"This is an individual who doesn't fit into the M.O. of the usual problem type around here," Wilson told 10News.
Since San Diego police’s Central Division covers Bankers Hill, Wilson also worries about response times in case of an emergency.
"Often if we make a police call down here, they [have to] bring a car up from downtown. It could take 15 or 20 minutes,” said Wilson.
10News reached out to SDPD officials for comment on the peeping Tom situation, but officials did not immediately respond.
In the meantime, Wilson is just grateful somebody out there is taking a proactive approach to help keep his community safe.
"That's somebody reaching out to people and saying watch out for this guy and if the police are able to stop him or make an arrest before he does anything, whoever did this deserves a lot of credit,” said Wilson.
During a heat wave, criminals often look for open windows, so Wilson recommends neighbors try to keep doors and windows locked.
