Two investigators at the Los Angeles Police Department’s Wilshire Division were recently assigned full-time to focus on property crimes in Park La Brea and the surrounding neighborhood after an increase in burglaries occurred during the summer months.

LAPD senior lead officer Perry Jones has been working to reduce property crimes in Park La Brea and nearby areas. (photo by Aaron Blevins)

Police also recently arrested a suspect who allegedly broke into one of the garden apartments at Park La Brea in April and fled after being confronted by a resident.

According to police, the suspect, Victor Enrique Amaya, 52, was taken into custody on Sept. 12 after investigators linked him to the burglary through fingerprints. Officer Brent Hopkins, along with Det. Dara Brown, has been assigned to focus on the property crimes and said Amaya allegedly broke into an apartment in the 5600 block of 6th Street on April 3.

The suspect was inside the apartment holding a vase when he was confronted by the occupant. The suspect dropped the vase and fled. After identifying Amaya through fingerprint evidence, police spent a significant amount of time trying to locate him.

On Sept. 12, officers from the Wilshire Division’s Special Problems Unit searched the neighborhoods around Amaya’s residence in southeast Los Angeles and located the suspect driving nearby. He was taken into custody without incident, and charged with felony residential burglary with a person present.

Amaya is being held on $1 million bail, and is scheduled to appear in court today for a preliminary hearing.  Hopkins said the suspect was deported in 2009 but had since returned to the United States. Detectives are investigating whether Amaya may be responsible for other crimes in the area.

“That was very satisfying for us to be able to finally catch him,” Hopkins said. “But that’s only one piece of the puzzle.”

The investigator said the increase in property crimes began occurring earlier this year in Park La Brea and the surrounding area, and spiked toward the end of summer, when warm weather prompted many people to leave windows and doors open.

Since the beginning of the year, 158 property crimes have been reported in the area between Fairfax and La Brea avenues, and Wilshire Boulevard and 3rd Street, according to Hopkins. There have been 53 residential burglaries, 20 vehicle thefts and burglaries, and 85 thefts. Hopkins said only 29 of the thefts occurred in the neighborhood, and the remaining 56 were shoplifting incidents occurring in retail stores.

“The administration at the station takes this very seriously and has directed us to get a handle on it,” Hopkins said. “We want to protect the people who live there from this kind of thing.”

Hopkins added that he and Brown have been working daily to solve the crimes, and have been routinely meeting with the security patrol and administration at Park La Brea. Although the complex is gated and there are security booths at the entrances, people sometimes sneak on to the property, or enter under the ruse that they are guests of an occupant, Hopkins said.

He said part of the strategy is to warn community members about ways to prevent the crimes, which can be as simple as keeping windows and doors locked, and valuables out of sight in vehicles.

Hopkins said most of the burglaries occurred in ground-floor or second-story residences, but the suspects have entered multi-story apartment buildings and some of the towers at Park La Brea to look for unlocked doors. In three of the recent incidents, a suspect entered an apartment at night when the occupant was home. In one incident, the resident woke and saw a suspect, who then fled. In the other two incidents, the residents woke to find property missing. In all three incidents, the doors were either left unlocked, or there was a key left under a doormat.

“That is something that really concerns us, because there is the potential it could escalate to something more serious,” Hopkins said. “We think there was somebody creeping around the hallways, or saw a lump in the mat.”

Senior lead officer Perry Jones, who oversees Park La Brea and the adjacent neighborhoods, said he and other officers have been routinely patrolling the area. He added, however, that police need the community’s help.

“We are mobilizing Park La Brea and trying to get more eyes and ears out there,” Jones said. “The bad guys are getting more and more bold.”

Police have scheduled a meeting for Park La Brea residents to discuss prevention measures on Thursday, Oct. 3, at 7 p.m. in the Park La Brea Activities Center, 475 Curson Ave. Residents from the surrounding area are also welcome, and can enter the complex from 3rd or 6th Streets. Jones encouraged residents to contact him if they have concerns about the crimes. He can be reached at (213)793-0782.

“We want people to know if they see something suspicious, call us,” Hopkins added. “We don’t want people to feel like they are living in a prison, but if you leave a window or door open, be mindful of it.”

John Burney, director of resident services for Park La Brea, encouraged residents to attend the meeting and cautioned that they should keep their doors and windows locked.

“Unfortunately, there has been an uptick in property crimes this year. We are sharing our community watch notices on our Facebook page. We work hard with Perry Jones and his team to respond to anything suspicious,” Burney said. “Unfortunately, when you live in large metropolitan cities, there are trends that occur as a result.”