UC Berkeley sorority intruder ID'd as felon with sex crime case
Residents said their underwear and slices of pizza were missing after Courtney Alford left the sorority house Saturday.
More details have emerged today about a man police say spent hours in a UC Berkeley sorority house last weekend, peeping into windows, watching women sleep and peering into occupied shower stalls.
No one was hurt, but the bizarre incident alarmed residents of the sorority house, who have asked for their privacy to be respected as the investigation continues.
In the aftermath of the incident, the residence has stepped up security measures so that something like this cannot happen again, police said Thursday.
Early Saturday morning, a UC Berkeley student called 911 after waking up to find a stranger in her shared bedroom as her roommates slept.
Authorities say Courtney Alford had propped open the sorority house door, in the 2300 block of Warring Street near UC Berkeley, and went in and out six times over the course of about three hours, at one point changing his clothes.
Residents said their underwear and slices of pizza were gone after he left at about 6 a.m.
As Berkeley sex crime investigators worked to solve the case, a patrol officer who had arrested Alford in September recognized him from security footage near the scene.
Alford also has an open felony sex crime case in Alameda County involving allegations of lewd acts with a child.
Berkeley police used Flock camera data to confirm that Alford had been in the Southside neighborhood near the sorority house on the night of the burglary.
On Wednesday, Berkeley detectives and the department's bike unit found Alford's car in Castro Valley and arrested him when he returned to it.
When officers searched his residence in Dublin, they found evidence connected to the sorority house crime along with rifle parts and ammunition, police said.
Courtney Alford. BPD
After his arrest, Alford admitted he had been inside the sorority but said residents had invited him there, police said.
According to booking records, Alford was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of burglary and committing a new offense while out on bail in addition to firearm and ammunition possession allegations.
Alford is not allowed to own guns or ammunition due to his criminal record, which includes convictions for felony evasion, commercial burglary, grand theft and assault with a deadly weapon, court records show.
In January 2024, Alford, who is from Berkeley but now lives in Dublin, was charged with committing lewd acts on a child.
That case remains active, according to court files.
Alford is now being held at Santa Rita Jail with a combined bail of $230,000. He is scheduled for arraignment Friday.
