In a message to local communities yesterday, LAPD extended its thanks to sharp-eyed residents whose help led to the arrest of four juvenile burglary-from-motor-vehicle suspects:
“In the first incident, Wilshire patrol officers detained and cited three juveniles near the area of Oakwood and Spaulding Avenues at approximately 2:45 a.m. on July 26, 2017. In the second, officers caught a repeat juvenile offender in the 100 south block of Mansfield Avenue at approximately 7:30 a.m. on the same day. Though the two arrests do not appear related, they did have one thing in common: good neighbors called 911 when they saw the suspects suspiciously peering into vehicles.
“We give tremendous credit to the people who spoke up when they saw something wrong,” said Detective Salvador Loera, Wilshire’s autos coordinator. “This was an excellent example of the community-police partnership in action. If not for these residents calling us, we would have had a hard time catching these crooks. Because of them, the neighborhood is much safer.”
Detectives encourage residents to keep an eye out for suspects looking into cars, trying door handles, wandering into driveways and using flashlights when walking in otherwise well-lit areas. In addition, juveniles are not allowed on the street unaccompanied between 10 pm and sunrise (please see http://www.lapdonline.org/juvenile_division/content_basic_view/2011 for more information). Anyone with information about possible burglary from motor vehicle or grand theft auto activity is encouraged to call 911 if they see a crime in progress.
“This has been a great week, but we always have to remain on our guard,” Loera said. “We have to make sure these bad guys know the community’s watching and that we won’t tolerate this behavior here. Thanks to everyone who’s helped us out and keep up the good work!”
This should be welcome news to neighbors, many of whom have recently reported on NextDoor and other social media seeing young suspects going from car to car on local streets and driveways, seemingly searching for easy targets.
