Palo Alto police arrest suspected home intruder found in locked bathroom

A man was arrested on Sunday morning after he allegedly broke into a Palo Alto home and locked himself in a bathroom, police said Tuesday.   

Shortly after 2:35 a.m., police received a call reporting a burglary at a home in Barron Park on the 3500 block of Julie Court. The residents, a woman and man in their fifties, were alerted to a person outside their home by their security cameras, police said.

According to investigators, the suspect had entered the property at around 1:15 a.m. and could be seen on security footage approaching the front door of the residence. Then, at around 2:00 a.m., the same suspect, later identified by police as 46-year-old Oscar Dario Banegas from San Jose, approached the home's front door and rang the doorbell, police alleged.

Police said that while the male resident went outside to investigate and found that one of their cars had been rummaged through, Banegas allegedly entered the home through the front door, and locked himself in a bathroom.

The female resident heard someone inside the home and was the one to call police, the department said.

When Palo Alto police arrived, they entered the residence and forced entry into the bathroom, arresting Banegas.

The victims had not reported anything stolen from their home as of Tuesday, and neither the residents nor the suspect were injured, the department said.

Banegas was booked into the Santa Clara County Main Jail on suspicion of felony residential burglary, felony violation of parole, misdemeanor possession of methamphetamine, misdemeanor resisting arrest, and misdemeanor providing false information to police.