Authorities in Los Angeles and West Hollywood are investigating two cases of mail theft, the kind of crime that has long plagued city residents, especially those in apartment and condominium complexes.
In West Hollywood, a mail thief was spotted on security video last week opening and emptying all the mail boxes in the lobby of an apartment building on Sweetzer Avenue.
The video shows the man putting the pilfered mail into a black bag before he exits out the rear of the building with the bag and some other parcels in hand.
On Tuesday night in Studio City, residents of a complex on the 4200 block of Longridge Avenue confronted a suspect, with one of them pepper-spraying the man, a video recording shows.
Some of the residents told reporters a thief had been breaking into their mailboxes for about two weeks after a local mail carrier was robbed of a master key.
“We’ve reported it to the cops,” one of them told KTLA5. “We’ve reported it to the detective, and the postal service is aware of it.”
As in the West Hollywood case, some of the thefts have been captured on security video.
@livefromthe818_ A group of neighbors in Studio City were fed up following weeks of their mail being stolen, but they say they were finally able to catch the suspected thief red-handed. The residents along Longridge Avenue say one of their mail carriers was robbed of his mail key weeks ago, and say they came face-to-face with the suspect Tuesday night. Part of that confrontation was captured on video.
By: @Tim Brehmer #losangeles #california #losangelescalifornia #lacounty #studiocity #breakingnews #news #lapd #losangelespolicedepartment #trending #viral #viraltiktok #fyp #foryoupage
The Studio City suspect was not only pepper-sprayed by one of the residents, but his Jeep also had its windshield smashed to keep him from driving away.
The resident recorded himself pepper-spraying the man and tussling with him and said he smashed the vehicle’s windshield.
The confrontation left the resident with a bleeding arm wound, possibly from being stabbed or cut, but he was unsure exactly how he was hurt. He was treated at the scene by fire department personnel, Los Angeles Police Department Officer Rosario Cervantes said.
The suspect managed to drive away before police arrived to investigate, Cervantes said.