Detectives from the Los Angeles Police Department’s Wilshire Division are trying to generate leads in separate restaurant break-ins on April 21 on Melrose Avenue and La Cienega Boulevard.

Burglars pried open a rear door at the Blu Jam Café during the early morning of April 21. Another restaurant on La Cienega Boulevard was burglarized the same morning. (photo by Edwin Folven)

One break-in occurred at approximately 3 a.m. at the Blu Jam Café, located at 7371 Melrose Ave. Det. Joe Alves with the Wilshire Division said someone attempted to pry open a rear door at the restaurant and it set off an alarm. Officers arrived and found the door slightly ajar. It was uncertain whether anything was stolen, and police are in the process of following up with the restaurant owners to determine what was lost.

Alves said another break-in occurred overnight on April 21 at Koi, in the 700 block of N. La Cienega Boulevard. He did not know the specific time it occurred and couldn’t comment on what was taken.

The break-ins were similar in that someone pried open rear doors. Alves said no suspects were seen. Investigators are trying to determine whether surveillance footage captured images of the suspect. He said it is uncertain whether the two crimes are linked.

Additionally, an attempted burglary occurred two days earlier on April 19 between midnight and 5 a.m. at a Chanel store in the 100 block of North Robertson Boulevard. The suspect attempted to pry open a door but was unable to get inside and fled.

Alves said burglars commonly target businesses on major commercial streets like La Cienega, Robertson and Beverly Boulevards, Melrose Avenue and Third Street. He cautioned business owners to invest in surveillance cameras and security gates. Although the two break-ins and attempted burglary occurred last week, Alves said commercial burglaries have dropped recently in the Wilshire Division and extra patrols have been deployed along commercial corridors.

“As far as commercial burglaries go, we are 50 percent down from last year,” Alves said.

Anyone with information about the burglaries is asked to call detectives with the Wilshire Division at (323)922-8205.