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Courtney Alford, 45, accused of trespassing and peeking and invading privacy at a sorority house near UC Berkeley. 

BERKELEY, Calif. – A convicted felon, who is being held by the Berkeley Police Department, has been charged with burglary, trespassing, and invading privacy for allegedly watching women shower in a communal shower room at a Berkeley sorority house near the UC Berkeley campus, officials say. 

What we know:

Courtney Alford, 45, of Dublin, was arrested on Wednesday and was charged by the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office the next day. Officials say the burglary happened at the all-female sorority house on the 2300 block of Warring Street earlier this month. 

Police said on Nov. 1, residents at the sorority house reported an unknown man seen inside one of the resident’s bedrooms. He then fled through a back door at around 6 a.m. Other residents of the home said they had seen the suspect inside the home as early as 3 a.m. 

Upon review of security-camera footage, police officers found multiple clips of the suspect walking both inside and outside the building until around 6:35 a.m. 

Authorities said the suspect even left, changed clothes only to return and even wore a ski mask at one point. 

Items stolen from the sorority house include underwear and food. 

Detectives with the police department’s sex crimes unit determined Alford was the suspect. Using FLOCK technology – a license plate reader – detectives found the suspect’s vehicle in the area before and after the burglary. 

Authorities obtained a warrant for Alford’s arrest on Nov. 4. He was arrested Nov. 5 in Castro Valley without incident, according to police. 

Officers who searched his residence found parts of an assault rifle, 900 rounds of ammunition and high-capacity ammunition magazines. 

The charges against Alford include burglary, prowling/peeking, invading privacy, unlawful entry, and possession of a firearm by a felon. 

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