Homeless woman charged with trespassing four apartments in Weburn Terrace

A homeless woman is being charged with burglary and trespassing apartments in Weyburn Terrace last month, according to university police.

Alesia Duffy, a 48-year-old homeless woman, allegedly trespassed or attempted to trespass four Weyburn Terrace apartments. Police believe Duffy was in search of an alternate living situation to the streets, said Brian Washburn, a university police detective.

At about 9 p.m. on Sept. 21, a Weyburn resident returned to his apartment after being gone for several weeks to find a chair blocking his front door and the back window open, Washburn said.

Police later concluded Duffy was allegedly living in the apartment for an unknown amount of time, using the apartment’s shower and bed, Washburn said.

Upon hearing the resident open the front door, Duffy supposedly fled out the back door and attempted to break into Italian graduate student Kelly Roso’s apartment, Washburn said.

Duffy left the apartment after Roso saw her through the window, Roso said.

Duffy then allegedly entered a different apartment in Weyburn Terrace that was unlocked, Washburn said. She reportedly walked through the apartment and came across the apartment’s resident, fleeing immediately following the encounter.

Police found Duffy at about 10 p.m. allegedly attempting to break into a fourth apartment, Washburn said.

Nothing substantial was taken from the Weyburn apartments, but Duffy was in possession of a stolen iPad and iPod that were reported missing in Santa Monica, Washburn said.

It is common for homeless people to attempt to live in or take food from unoccupied apartments in Westwood, especially during summer when many students are gone, Washburn said.

A similar incident occurred in June, when what police believed to be a homeless man trespassed into the Alpha Delta Pi sorority house, he added. Nothing was stolen, and when the man was seen by a worker in the house, he left, according to Daily Bruin archives.

Members of the Los Angles homeless population are often attracted to Westwood because it is a relatively safe area, Washburn said.

“Of the 80,000 plus people in Westwood, our per capita crime rate is pretty low and usually not violent,” he said. “If they’re choosing between Westwood or someplace like Venice Beach, Westwood is the safer option.” he said.

Unfamiliar stains scattered across Roso’s sheets and sodas missing from her refrigerator led her to believe that Duffy used her apartment while she was studying abroad for two months in Italy, Roso said.

Although police believe Duffy did not intend to cause harm, the incident caused Roso to look for a different apartment that isn’t easily accessible from the street, she said.

“The whole thing was just creepy,” Roso said. “When I sit on my couch watching TV, I think, “˜Did she sit on this couch? Did she wear my clothes?'”

Duffy will represented by a public defender and prosecuted by the district attorney in her preliminary hearing scheduled for Wednesday.