An alleged prowler in the College Area was arrested on Wednesday, but San Diego police say they are still searching for another suspect connected to a separate incident last year.
The victim from Wednesday's arrest is a San Diego State University coed, who says the suspect peered through her windows three times this week.
There have been enough incidents this school year that some women around campus feel targeted.
SDSU junior Aubrey Wagner says her ring cameras caught the suspect peeking in her windows.
Get San Diego local news, weather forecasts, sports and lifestyle stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC San Diego newsletters.
“Our heart does sink every time we get a ring notification, even if it is like a squirrel,” Wagner said.
After a short chase through her Adobe Drive neighborhood Wednesday night, Ilmer Cortez-Diaz was arrested.
“Its kind of hard looking back and thinking how many times he was looking in and we didn’t know, especially since this is a neighborhood full of young women,” Wagner said.
Local
Less than a mile east of Wagner’s home, eight other women living in a home on Dorothy Drive remain on high alert. Roommates Ava Grell and Mia Herrerias are two of them.
“I know none of these girls, at least in our house, are probably sleeping alone in the house any time soon,” Grell said.
“I am definitely paranoid anytime it is late at night, and I see a ring notification. I check every single one,“ Herrerias said.
Three days after Christmas, police say a man was watching one of the women in the house showering. The ring camera video indicates he had been back there for four hours.
“I was definitely freaked out about the whole thing,“ Herrerias said.
This school year in the College Area, there are at least two peeping incidents and two reports of sexual assaults involving rideshare drivers or people pretending to be rideshare drivers.
In both prowler cases, witnesses say the suspects drove a car to their homes.
“A lot of people just have their guard down, and people that are just trying to be bad know their guard is down, and they target this area,“ Grell said.
"I think they know there is a lot of young girls, especially for a peeping tom situation, I think the young girls are definitely the appeal,“ Herrerias said.
Neighbors tell Wagner they saw a man peeking in the windows and pulling on the back door three months before Cortez-Diaz was caught.
The suspected prowler at Grell’s house hasn’t been seen since and has eluded capture.
“I feel like peeping toms kind of create a habit out of it. I hope he doesn’t do it again to anyone else,“ Grell said.
Wagner has a message for other students living on and off campus.
“Be very cautious and just kind of treat it like there is someone in your backyard because you have no idea,“ Wagner said.
San Diego police used Wednesday's arrest to draw attention to that Dorothy Drive prowler. Crime Stoppers is offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to his arrest.
