WFAA-TV

DALLAS - Two sexual assaults in the Oak Lawn area have spurred the Dallas Police Department to warn area residents to be on alert.

Letters were placed on Uptown resident doors and detailed what happened to one of their neighbors, who came home to find that her lock had been tampered with and her entryway light bulbs removed. The story reminded police of two recent sexual assaults in nearby Oak Lawn.

"The area that we live in is considered a very safe and nice area, very young and hip and everything," said Alison Mathis, an apartment complex resident. "So, you just don't think things like this could happen out here."

Dallas police said the first crime occurred at 10:40 p.m. on December 23 in the 4000 block of Bowser Avenue, which was where a woman was confronted by a man standing in her bedroom.

In a second incident in the same apartment complex in the 4700 block of Cedar Springs, a woman awoke at about 5:45 a.m. on January 5 to find a man shooting pepper spray into her eyes.

Police said they believe the same man is responsible for both attacks since both women were sexually assaulted and had sharp objects placed to their necks.

Candice Jetton and Robin Clack said the news of the sexual assaults and break-in rattled their feeling of security.

"I'm really surprised," Jetton said. "I've lived here for almost three years and I thought this area was really safe. I never hear anything about sexual assaults, so it's disconcerting that it is happening."

Police said the suspect gains entry through unlocked patio doors or windows.

"I live on the first floor, so I'm very concerned,"Clark said. "So, I'm easier to get, especially if he's coming back in back windows and things like that. So, [I will] just remember to keep the dead bolt on and stuff like that, things you forget."

Mathis said she has other plans.

"For the next couple of nights, until I leave for out of town, I'm going to stay with my sister and her fiance because I'm just too afraid," she said.

Dallas police said the suspect is not the same man wanted for a series of rapes that occurred in North Texas since May of 2005.

In this case, the man who sexually assaulted the women spoke Spanish while he committed the crimes. Police said the last words he spoke to the victims before leaving was "no police" in Spanish.

Police said the suspect is either a black male or dark complexioned Hispanic male in the age range of 25 to 35-years-old. The man was described as being 5'8-5'10, thin and athletic and wearing a stocking cap or baseball cap. He was also detailed as wearing a white T-shirt, white tennis shoes and gloves.

Crime Stoppers will pay up to $1,000 for information that leads to the arrest and indictment for the felony offenses or any other felony offenses. The number is (214) 373-TIPS.