Albany home invasion: Detectives investigate aggravated burglary in Spencer Park

Albany police are searching for a man after a woman was threatened with a knife during a brazen home invasion.

Police say that at about 7.30am on Monday morning, the young 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, while 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 chest that was heavily soiled, brown shorts with a hole on the left leg and no shoes.

Detective Senior Constable Brad Wright said the burglary was believed to be an isolated but “serious” incident and asked members of the public not to approach the man if they see 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 Snr Cst Wright said.

It is believed the man left the home on foot, and the direction he travelled in 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 Snr Cst 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 that 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 Snr Cst 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” following the incident.

“As you could probably appreciate, this is not something that occurs every day to people,” Det Snr Cst 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 report online at www.crimestopperswa.com.au.