An 18-year-old Chinese exchange student managed to break into Steph Curry’s Atherton mansion, and we’re only learning of it nearly two months after the fact because the suspect failed to show up for his court date.

A story last week from the Palo Alto Daily Post showed that someone recently made stunningly easy work of breaking into Golden State Warriors point guard Steph Curry’s mansion in Atherton. On Friday, the Palo Alto Daily Post reported that an intruder broke into Steph and Ayesha Curry’s home, in an incident that happened way back on October 15. And the only reason we’re learning of this is that the suspect, 18-year-old Chinese exchange student Sheng Gao, failed to show up for his December 7 court date at San Mateo County Superior Court.


The caper was incredibly unsophisticated, albeit also unsuccessful, as Gao was reportedly just seeking Curry’s autograph. According to KPIX, Gao took a bus from his home in Cupertino that day, and once arriving in Atherton, he merely asked a neighbor which house was Steph Curry’s. The neighbor told him!

Gao reached the home, and per KPIX, he pushed the security gate’s ‘call’ and ‘ring’ buttons, and the front gate opened right up for him. SFGate spoke to San Mateo County DA Steve Wagstaffe, who said law enforcement “looked at the gate code records and it suggested it could have already been open” when Gao made his way in.

Gao was confronted by an on-duty nanny. “She then told him to leave and… he walked out,” Wagstaffe told SFGate. KPIX adds that Gao was then spotted by law enforcement while walking along El Camino Real, and was given a citation for one count of misdemeanor aggravated trespassing.

“Aggravated trespassing is when you enter into the residence of somebody who is there,” Wagstaffe told SFGate. “It’s not a burglary, because to be a burglary we have to show the intent was to steal something.”

That citation instructed Gao to appear in San Mateo County Superior Court on December 7. He didn’t show up. Judge Donald Ayoob issued Gao a $500 bench warrant, which means Gao can be arrested at any time and his bail will be $500. He remains at large.

Neither Steph nor Ayesha Curry was home at the time of the October 15 incident. But the Currys’ three children were home (and that includes our old favorite Riley Curry, now 11 years old), though prosecutors say that Gao did not take anything with him, nor did he attempt to.

Related: Steph and Ayesha Curry Oppose New Multi-Family Housing Near Home in Exclusive South Bay Town [SFist]

Image: TOKYO, JAPAN - OCTOBER 01: Stephen Curry arrives at the newly opened UNDER ARMOUR Curry Court on October 1, 2022 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Jun Sato/GC Images)