Police issue warning after burglar enters two southwest Lawrence homes as residents sleep inside

Lawrence police are warning residents to lock doors and secure windows at night after a man apparently entered two homes early Friday as residents slept inside.

Sgt. Trent McKinley, a Lawrence police spokesman, said officers and detectives were still investigating both burglary cases in which the man apparently entered unlocked back doors in southwest Lawrence. The first one was reported at 1:23 a.m. in the 4700 block of Ranch Court, west of Clinton Parkway and Inverness Drive. The second one was reported minutes later about a block and a half to the southwest in the 4800 block of West 25th Street, near 24th Street and Wakarusa Drive.

McKinley said police believe the two crimes are related. They have not yet released a description of the suspect.

In the Ranch Court call, the residents awoke to find a man in the home. The suspect fled, and the residents called police.

On West 25th Street, McKinley said about 1:30 a.m. the residents woke to finding an unidentified man inside the home, and one resident attempted to confront the suspect who ran away. He took a small amount of cash during the second burglary.

The suspect was not captured and remains unidentified. No one was injured in either case.

“With the weather getting nicer, people oftentimes leave doors and windows unsecured for air flow,” McKinley said. “That always presents potential security issues and could allow easy access into someone’s home. We just want to stress that this is a serious situation, and we want to make sure everybody is taking the appropriate safety measures by locking doors and windows and using exterior lighting.”

He said the department’s neighborhood resource officers can perform security surveys. To schedule one, send an email to NRO@lkpd.org or call 830-7408.

Anyone with information about either burglary call is asking to call police dispatchers at 832-7509 or Douglas County Crime Stoppers at 843-TIPS.