Hopkins Police arrested a Hopkins resident Sept. 26 in connection with a pair of home burglaries during the weekend of Sept. 20-21.

Police executed a search warrant at a residence on Sunnyside Lane in Hopkins, and property from both burglaries was recovered, along with 260 other items reported stolen in other burglaries in the metro area.

The suspect has not been charged and another suspect remains at large, according to Police Chief Craig Reid. Sun Newspapers does not generally name suspects before charges are filed.

Two residents -- one on Van Buren Avenue North and one on Monroe Avenue South -- reported finding burglars in their homes in the early morning hours.

In one case, the suspect allegedly threatened the homeowner with a knife. No one was injured in either event.

Reid said the department is still investigating how many incidents the two suspects were allegedly involved in.

"This is a good break in the case, but there is still a lot of work to do," he said. "There are similarities in a number of them. We haven't made a solid connection that every single burglary was the same one or two people."

Generally speaking, he said, most home robberies occur during the day, when residents are not home.

"Evening burglaries of occupied structures are not something we've seen routinely," he said.

Hopkins Police issued a warning to Hopkins residents in August about an increase in occupied-residential burglaries. In several cases this summer, thieves entered homes at night by cutting screens on windows that were left open and unlocked.

Residents were often home during the burglaries, but were not confronted in most cases, according to police. Items stolen included cell phones, laptops, Ipods, wallets, prescription medications and other easily portable high-value items.

In order to prevent burglaries, the department recommend that residents do the following:

- Close and lock garage doors at all times_

- Remove everything of value from vehicles (including garage-door openers)_

- Lock doors and secure all windows (including doors from garage to home)_

- Record the make, model and serial numbers on all their electronic items__Police are asking residents to be extra observant and call 911 if they notice anything in their neighborhood that seems suspicious. Contact the department at 952-935-8885 if you have any information on these crimes._

This article was first published Oct. 1 on our website, www.mnsun.com. Visit the site for your daily local news, including next-day city council and school board coverage.

- Close and lock garage doors at all times_

- Remove everything of value from vehicles (including garage-door openers)_

- Lock doors and secure all windows (including doors from garage to home)_

- Record the make, model and serial numbers on all their electronic items__Police are asking residents to be extra observant and call 911 if they notice anything in their neighborhood that seems suspicious. Contact the department at 952-935-8885 if you have any information on these crimes._

This article was first published Oct. 1 on our website, www.mnsun.com. Visit the site for your daily local news, including next-day city council and school board coverage.