California Teen Arrested For Breaking Into Home, Demanding to Use Wifi

A 17-year-old boy has been arrested in Palo Alto, California, for breaking into the home of a couple and demanding to use their wifi.

The Daily Mail reports that a 17-year-old boy has been arrested in Palo Alto, California, after he broke into the home of a sleeping couple, woke them and demanded to use their WiFi as his phone had run out of mobile data. The 60-year-old couple called the police after being woken by the teenager, who they had pushed down the hallway and out their front door.

Officers determined upon examining the home that the teenager had gained access by cutting through a screen that covered an open window in the side yard of the house. Two kitchen knives were reported missing from the kitchen drawers of the house but the motives of the teenager in choosing their house currently remain unknown.

The teenager has not yet been publicly identified due to his age but he has been charged with burglary, prowling and providing false information to a police officer. The suspect is also believed to have stolen a bike from a nearby yard. In the case of the stolen bike, a woman noticed the teenager standing in her backyard, he then motioned to the woman that he wanted to speak with her.

The woman notified another resident of the home, a man in his late teens, and they confronted the 17-year-old in the backyard. The 17-year-old told the residents that he was out of mobile data and asked to use their WiFi, the residents ordered him to leave and he cycled away. A man living at the home noticed the next day that video surveillance footage of the house showed the 17-year-old stealing a bicycle from the backyard.

The police were not notified of the incident at the time but were made aware of the situation following the teen’s break-in at the home of the 60-year-old couple. Police found the stolen bicycle near where the teenage suspect was arrested.