Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has directed police to add extra patrols along Ventura Boulevard after a string of residential burglaries across the San Fernando Valley.
Police have reported burglars breaking into six homes over seven days in the Valley and surrounding areas; no links have been found between them. In one case about a week ago, a Hollywood Hills resident suffered minor injuries when she was assaulted by burglars after the intruders were discovered in the home.
Then, on early Friday morning, police said they took a man into custody at the Hollywood Hills home of actor Dylan Sprouse, best known for his role in the Disney Channel sitcom “The Suite Life of Zack & Cody” in the mid-2000s, and his wife, Barbara Palvin, a Victoria’s Secret model.
Sprouse tackled a man on his lawn near his home after his wife spotted him, sources familiar with the incident told The Times. Police told The Times the man was taken into custody on outstanding warrants, and the suspect did not make it into the couple’s home, only onto the property. No injuries were reported, police said.
Of the six reported burglaries, four have occurred within two miles of Ventura Boulevard. One was about three and a half miles away from the boulevard, and another was about eight miles away.
As part of Bass’ directive, the Los Angeles Police Department is also deploying more patrol vehicles in high-visibility locations; using mobile license plate readers around high-risk burglary areas; using air support to conduct patrols; holding weekly burglary meetings with detectives; and collaborating with specialized divisions such as the Robbery Homicide Division and the Commercial Crimes Division “to investigate high-value loss burglaries,” the mayor’s office said.
“I’ve directed the LAPD to strategically deploy resources along Ventura Boulevard and to continue making this area a priority by holding these criminals accountable,” Bass said in a statement. “Residents deserve to feel safe in their communities, especially in their homes, and we will continue to deploy the resources necessary to keep people safe.”
The first of the six burglaries was reported on the evening of April 11 in Sherman Oaks, in the 13000 block of Davana Terrace, about a block away from Ventura Boulevard. Officers received a radio call about a burglary at the home that occurred a day earlier, but the suspects were gone by the time they arrived. Police did not release information about what the burglars stole, but said one of the burglars wore all black clothing.
The next day, police were called to a home in the Hollywood Hills in the 7100 block of Macapa Drive, where a resident had entered the home around 9:30 p.m. and found multiple burglars inside. The burglars assaulted the resident, who suffered minor injuries, said LAPD Officer Charles Miller. The burglars took several items and fled in a gray Hyundai; they were wearing gray hoodies and black pants.
On Tuesday, police responded to a home in Valley Village, in the 11700 block of Hesby Street, around 8:30 p.m. The burglars were gone by the time officers arrived, Miller said.
Less than an hour later, officers were called to a home in Valley Glen, in the 12700 block of Hatteras Street, about a mile and a half away. The burglars appeared to have left by the time police arrived.
On Wednesday, police responded to another home in Valley Glen, in the 6800 block of Vanscoy Avenue, where two people wearing gray hoodies broke in. Police were called at about 9:30 p.m., but the burglars had already fled.
Then on Thursday in Granada Hills, about nine miles to the northwest, came a report of three men, wearing masks and black clothing, having broken into a home in the 11900 block of Wood Ranch Road. The men were gone before officers arrived, and they left without stealing anything from the home, Miller said.
Break-ins have shaken up San Fernando Valley residents over the last year.
Some residents last summer said they were afraid and angry after “American Idol” music supervisor Robin Kaye, 70, and her rock musician husband, Tom DeLuca, also 70, were killed in their Encino home by an intruder. Raymond Boodarian, 23, was charged with murder and burglary.
Police said the couple were returning to their $4.5-million home when they came upon Boodarian. Police said the suspect allegedly shot the couple multiple times. Los Angeles police did not find their bodies until four days later, when officers were sent to the home for a welfare check.
Police said last year that the killings of Kaye and DeLuca appeared to be random. Though the couple’s house was well fortified, the suspect had managed to get in through an unlocked door.
The Hayvenhurst Avenue home of “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star Teddi Mellencamp was also targeted in July by three intruders who jumped a fence and entered the property.
In August, Los Angeles leaders announced the arrest of several alleged South L.A. gang members accused of burglarizing nearly 100 homes and businesses, largely on the city’s Westside.
Those arrested were believed to be part of a group that called itself the “Rich Rollin’ Burglary Crew,” which focused on seizing high-end jewelry, purses and guns, LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell said last year. Expensive watches and luxury wallets and suitcases were also targeted, he said.
In a meeting last summer with the Sherman Oaks Homeowners Assn., McDonnell said there were two main groups targeting homes in the Encino area: crews from South America — whose members come on a 90-day visa — and South Los Angeles.
Some South L.A. crews may target homes based on what residents display on social media, he warned.
“You’re showing off Rolexes, fancy bags, fancy cars, this kind of stuff. You make yourself a target,” he said at the meeting.
The burglary crews may also follow people from upscale restaurants to see what kind of car they own. Burglars may also put tiny cameras outside a home in a flower bed to monitor residents’ movements, he said.
Times staff writers Salvador Hernandez, Cierra Morgan, Dakota Smith, Emily St. Martin and Richard Winton contributed to this report.
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