Albany detectives release image of man wanted in relation to aggravated home burglary

Albany detectives have released an image of a man wanted for a home burglary in Albany this week.

On Friday an image of the alleged offender was released by police as they continue to investigate the aggravated home burglary which took place in Spencer Park on Monday.

Police began searching for the man after he threatened a young woman with a knife during the home invasion.

They say about 7.30am on Monday, the woman was alone at her home on North Road when she discovered a man inside her kitchen.

When he was confronted, the man took a large knife from a drawer and threatened the woman with it.

Police say the man then stole a white Xbox controller before leaving the home a short time later, still in possession of the knife.

The man is described as being about 25 years old, 180cm tall, with a very thin build, short sandy blonde hair and stubble.

He has distinctive scarring on both his cheeks.

He was wearing a white T-shirt with a pocket on the left side of the chest that was heavily soiled, brown shorts with a hole on the left leg, and no shoes.

Det-Sen. Const. Brad Wright said the burglary was believed to be an isolated but “serious” incident, and asked that people not approach the man if they saw him but to contact Crime Stoppers.

“Potentially this person may still be in the possession of the knife, hence why if anybody does sight this person, or believe that they know his whereabouts, we do ask them not to approach and to contact police immediately,” Det-Sen. Const. Wright said.

It is believed the man left the home on foot, and the direction in which he travelled is unknown.

“We’re very concerned, obviously, we’re deeming this to be a serious incident and we’ll investigate it to the full extent,” Det-Sen. Const. Wright said.

“And we won’t stop until we are able to identify and apprehend the person that we believe to be involved.”

He said although he believed the public were not at risk, Albany residents should maintain “general security awareness”.

“Obviously some of these incidences are based on opportunity,” Det-Sen. Const. Wright said.

“General safety concerns — lock your doors, don’t leave things in your car and just have that general awareness about your surroundings.”

He said the young woman involved in the incident was “quite shocked” afterwards.

“As you could probably appreciate, this is not something that occurs every day to people,” Det-Sen. Const. Wright said.

“She obviously was quite shocked and I would assume that she will be quite shocked for the days to come.”

Detectives want to hear from anyone who was in Spencer Park or the surrounding areas between 6am and midday on Monday who may have seen the man.

They are also asking for anyone with CCTV or dashcam footage of the area that may assist with the investigation to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or make a report online at www.crimestopperswa.com.au.