Man pleads not guilty to breaking into Palm Springs homes after being found swimming at one

A Cathedral City man who police say was spotted swimming in the pool of a Palm Springs home he broke into in September pleaded not guilty to a pair of burglary counts on Thursday.

Kenneth Blakeley, 34, is accused of breaking into a home on Calle Palo Fierro on September 26, then hoping over several backyard fences to get to a home four houses down, where he was spotted taking a swim, according to KESQ.

Police were called to the first home about 12:30 pm after someone said they saw a man and woman run out of the house. The residence had been ransacked, according to police, with items stacked near the front door.

Around 4 pm, police were called to the home four doors down with the responding officer claiming to have found Blakeley “sitting on a wall near the front porch.” He told the officer he was visiting a woman named Jennifer Rasmussen at the house and was allowed to be there.