SAN DIEGO -- A neighbor who reported seeing a group of suspicious-looking men seemingly casing homes in a Carmel Valley neighborhood Thursday made an emergency call that led to the arrest of four suspected burglars.

The resident reported the suspicious pedestrians on Sunset Point Place shortly after 11 a.m., according to San Diego police.

Patrol personnel arrived minutes later and soon detained two people, including one found hiding behind a row of garbage cans, SDPD Officer Brad Ruff said.

Another neighbor then directed police to a home that someone appeared to be sneaking around in. As officers approached, they saw household possessions lying outside the front door, Ruff said. People began yelling that two men were jumping fences and dashing through yards in the direction of a canyon that runs through the area.

As officers, aided by a police helicopter crew, searched the neighborhood with service dogs, a Vallery Court resident called to report that two suspicious-looking men had just asked him for a ride. Officers went to the locale and soon had a third and fourth suspect in custody, according to Ruff.

The arrestees, whose names were not immediately available, were booked into county jail on suspicion of residential burglary, police said.