A string of car and home burglaries have left some Point Reyes Station residents yearning for a forgotten period when leaving the door unlocked wasn’t a punishable offense. The Marin County Sheriff’s Office on May 16 arrested a suspect related to a car burglary at Chicken Ranch Beach, though it would not provide the man’s name by press time. It has since obtained a warrant for the arrest of a suspect related to the burglaries of two Point Reyes Station homes on Mother’s Day. Deputy Jesus Contreras said the owner of a Honda saw a man smash the window of her car at Chicken Ranch Beach and then confronted him. The burglar apologized and then fled the scene, but deputies were able to track him down outside Point Reyes Station and arrest him. Deputy Contreras said there had been a handful of vehicle burglaries in the last month but that, “ever since we’ve caught the subject, the burglaries have stopped. In the early morning of May 14, Norma Schliftman was upstairs sleeping in her apartment when a burglar invaded her home. “My pocketbook was there and then suddenly it was gone,” she said. The burglar snatched her purse and took off with her car. She suspects the intruder was familiar with the layout of her apartment, and said she regrets leaving the door unlocked. “I’ve been here for 10 years and most people I’ve spoken to since have said they leave their doors unlocked. It’s a very big mistake,” she said. Peggy Day, a retired nurse who lives at Walnut Place, responded to the break-ins by placing a poster around town, reminding residents to lock their doors: “Time to change old country ways,” it warns. Lt. Doug Pittman, the spokesman for the Sheriff’s Office, said deputies planned to arrest the home-burglaries suspect on Wednesday. He said the “strong sense of community” in West Marin, where people pay attention and recognize outsiders, helped the office identify the person.