Seven people believed to be tied to dozens of home burglaries across Southern California were taken into custody, authorities announced Wednesday, saying the culprits are part of sophisticated burglary rings using high-tech tactics to target their victims.
“These organizations frequently conduct extensive pre-planning and use sophisticated tactics,” Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said at a Wednesday morning news conference discussing the arrests.
Authorities said residential burglaries are actually trending downward in the Los Angeles area, but a recent rash of such crimes in the San Fernando Valley and other areas have put more focus on the issue.
Speaking at Wednesday’s news conference, District Attorney Nathan Hochman, Los Angeles Police Department Chief Jim McDonnell and Ventura County Sheriff Jim Fryhoff detailed arrests in three recent residential burglaries, highlighting the types of sophisticated tactics the crews often deploy — such as hidden surveillance cameras and WiFi jammers.
Burglary crews are also known to target victims by checking their social media accounts to see if they are traveling out of town, and in some cases placing a DoorDash bag on victims’ porch and ringing the doorbell to see if anyone answers.
Luna displayed one of the hidden cameras that was seized during one of the recent arrests, with the equipment concealed in a box wrapped in artificial turf so it could be strategically hidden in front of a home to monitor the residents’ activities.
“What’s in it is a phone and a camera with extra batteries,” Luna said. “If you see anything that looks like this in your neighbor’s home, in your home, report it to us immediately. That is the sophistication that these individuals are using.”
Authorities urged residents to protect themselves by notifying neighbors, police or sheriff’s deputies when they plan to be out of town. They also reminded people to avoid social media posts that could alert potential thieves that they are vacationing or traveling out of town. Luna noted that hard-wired security systems are favorable to wireless ones that can be jammed with high tech methods.
As for the recent arrests, three of the suspects were arrested in connection with a May 1 burglary in Ventura County. The culprits in that case were found with jewelry, money and a WiFi jammer, officails said.
On May 4, a West Los Angeles resident spotted a suspect on a surveillance camera trying to enter his home, leading to the arrest of 22-year-old Kevin Diaz, who is suspected of being linked to as many as 18 residential burglaries as part of a South American theft ring.
Three more suspects were arrested for allegedly trying to burglarize a Burbank home, using a ladder to access a second-story window.
Many recent burglaries and robberies have taken place in posh or simply suburban areas of the San Fernando Valley. Businesses on and around fashionable Melrose Avenue area have also been targeted in overnight burglaries, with multiple targets being hit in a single night.