In an alleged incident over Halloween weekend, a real-life nightmare crept into a sorority house near UC Berkeley — a man in a ski mask who authorities said slipped through bedrooms and lurked in showers in the dead of night.
One woman was jolted awake by a dark figure near her bed, according to Berkeley Police Officer Byron White. Another was naked in the shower when the alleged peeping Tom preyed on her, police said.
Authorities said the terrifying events unfolded from around 3 to 6:35 a.m. on Nov. 1, hours after much of campus had been busy celebrating Halloween. The man then left the scene of the break-in with stolen underwear and pizza, White said.
Officers recently arrested 45-year-old Courtney Alford of Dublin in connection with the sorority house break-in, according to the Berkeley Police Department. When they searched his home, they found assault rifle parts, high-capacity ammunition magazines and more than 900 rounds of ammunition.
On Thursday, Alford was charged with burglary, peeking, invading privacy, possession of a firearm by a felon, possession of ammunition by a felon and trespassing, according to court records. He has pleaded not guilty to all counts filed against him.
Alford has an extensive criminal history in Alameda County, with cases stretching back to 1998. He previously was found guilty of burglary, grand theft, assault with a deadly weapon, making criminal threats and evading a peace officer, among other charges.
He also pleaded not guilty to two counts of lewd acts upon a child under 14 filed against him in March 2024, according to court records. That case remains open.
“He is someone that is known to the Berkeley Police Department well enough that an officer recognized him from one of the [surveillance photos],” said White.
On Nov. 1, Berkeley police responded to a call at a sorority house in the 2300 block of Warring Street regarding a man who was seen inside a women’s bedroom.
“This young lady was in her bed asleep, along with her three other roommates, and she woke up and there was this person inside her room,” said White. “It’s understandably shocking and scary.”
Security footage from the home showed the suspect walking both inside and outside of the building, at one point returning in a new set of clothes and a ski mask, police said.
White said there were at least three victims participating in the police investigation. But he noted that there are around 65 women living in the house, all of whom were likely affected by Alford’s alleged actions.
“Just the knowledge that somebody had been inside the home like that,” he said, “going into bedrooms, taking underwear, watching people shower, regardless if that was you or not, it does shake your sense of safety.”
A UC Berkeley spokesperson said the school was aware of the incident that occurred at an off-campus sorority and that the student affairs team was providing resources to the organization.
Berkeley police used automatic license plate readers to track Alford’s car in the area before and after the burglary. They located him in Castro Valley on Nov. 5 and arrested him.
He is currently being held at the Santa Rita Jail in Dublin in lieu of $275,000 bail and is due back in court on Nov. 18.
