Artur Hovhannisyan An 18-year-old Simi Valley man is in custody for allegedly committing two burglaries, and police believe he’s likely responsible for several more across town.

The suspect, Artur Hovhannisyan, was first arrested on a burglary charge Oct. 29 and arrested again Monday after a fingerprint connected him to a second home break-in, Simi Police Detective Sgt. Robert Arabian said.

On Oct. 29 at 1:18 p.m., a resident reported to police that she heard someone forcibly enter her home in the 2700 block of Fairway Park Drive. She said she heard a loud crashing sound, and when she went downstairs to investigate, she saw that her interior garage door had been forced open.

She immediately called 911, and Simi police officers came to investigate. En route to her home, two detectives observed a man walking down a residential street several blocks away. They detained the man, Hovhannisyan, and determined that he was a suspect in the Fairway Park home break-in.

Officers recovered property belonging to the homeowner as well as evidence linking Hovhannisyan to the crime, a police report said. Because the victim scared him away, he’d taken only a pack of cigarettes and a $20 bill, Arabian said.

Police believe the teenager is likely responsible for several residential burglaries on the east end of the city.

“There’s at least seven more (burglaries) that we’re looking at right now, but there may be more beyond that,” Arabian said, noting that the incident Hovhannisyan was arrested for on Monday occurred on the west end of town.

The Monday arrest was for a burglary that occurred in the 1300 block of Casmalia Court on Oct. 12. In that case, the burglar was in the middle of ransacking a residence when the homeowner returned, interrupting the burglary. The thief escaped out the second story balcony, but he left his fingerprints on an interior door, which police used to link Hovhannisyan to the crime.

Arabian said he thinks Hovhannisyan began his burglary spree in September, but as the police recover more evidence they may find it goes back even further.

He said the suspect usually stole cash or jewelry from homes.

“He’s knocking on the door to see if anyone answers, and if they don’t, he’ll force entry,” the detective said.

In the Oct. 29 incident, the homeowner ignored the knocks until she heard the thief break in. The burglar kicked in the door, but when he heard the homeowner coming down the stairs, he grabbed what he could and fled, Arabian said.

“Knocking on a door and kicking it in in the middle of the day is a very brazen way to commit a burglary,” he said.

Police said they were able to connect Hovhannisyan to the break-in through physical evidence—such as fingerprints and his footprint on the door—as well as through the personal property.

So far, no other property has been recovered. Jewelry is easily sold, and not everyone will get back what was stolen, Arabian said. Police do have a record of the suspect taking some items to a local pawn shop.

Arabian said that if someone knocks on the door and then gives a vague reason as to why they are there, they may have been testing to see if someone was home. He said residents should note the description of the person, write down a license plate number if possible and call the police.

Hovhannisyan was being held at Ventura County Jail on a felony charge of residential burglary but was released on $50,000 bail, Arabian said