LAPD West Division officers take suspect into custody.
By Sam Catanzaro
A man has been arrested by the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) for attempting to break into five different Brentwood homes Friday afternoon. Over the course of nearly seven hours, the suspect managed to enter one home and assaulted two women who confronted him.
“A great arrest was made in Brentwood the other night and a dangerous, predatory, criminal is now off our streets. Officers do this kind of police work every single day. But usually, it’s off the community radar and rarely makes the news,” wrote LAPD Senior Lead Officer Maria Gray in a letter to the Brentwood Community Council (BCC).
On November 2, at approximately 3:30 p.m., LAPD West division officers receive a radio call of a burglary suspect who was currently at a residence on the 100 block of Bowling Green Way. The suspect was described as a male, Hispanic, 5’2″ and in his mid 20’s.
“[The] Victim, outside her home, had been grabbed by the suspect over her clothing, in a sexual manner. He appeared to be under the influence. She screamed and the suspect fled through the neighborhood,” Gray said.
Officers then discovered there was another victim, also on the 100 Block of Bowling Green Way, who saw the same suspect in their backyard while he was actively trying to get inside their house. The suspect could not get in and so fled by jumping over a fence to a neighbor’s yard.
The suspect then entered another home on the100 N. block of Bowling Green Way. The housekeeper who was in the residence saw the suspect in the house holding various electronics. The suspect reportedly shoved and pinned the housekeeper and her scream brought a family member to the scene who gave chase, and the suspect continued to flee.
Officers responded to the house and while interviewing this victim, another radio call was received reporting a Vandalism Just Occurred on the 12000 block of Kearsarge Street. The victim heard a loud crash and saw the suspect attempting to access his side gate. The victim secured himself inside the house as the suspect tried to kick the door to break in, but was unable to and fled.
Around the same time, another victim on the 100 block of Saltair Avenue saw the suspect attempting to enter his residence through an open window.
“The victim confronted the suspect saw who then pulled his torso back out of the window and fled,” Gray said.
Soon after, on the 500 block of Westgate Avenue, the suspect attempted to open the rear door of another residence.
“He had cut the screen of the window leading to her daughter’s room but thankfully, the suspect was unable to get inside. He then continued to run. Officers were combing the area trying to find this guy,” Gray said.
On the 300 block of Westgate, a security guard flagged down officers and reported he had seen the suspect and the direction he ran in. Officers then set up a perimeter and requested a K9 unit.
“The suspect was taken into custody at about 10:00 pm, after a large coordinated effort between reporting victims and citizens, LAPD officers, security guards, and our Metro K9 Unit,” Gray said. “Special thanks go out to West LA Officers Chavez and Noland who carried this radio call from beginning to end, and saw it through to the suspect being booked for multiple charges.”
