A 19-year-old man who allegedly burglarized 24 vehicles in the Wilshire and Olympic neighborhoods was arrested on Sept. 20 after a stolen laptop led investigators to his residence in South Los Angeles.

Alexander Grimaldi has been charged with 24 counts of second-degree burglary, two counts of identity theft and one count of having a concealed firearm in a vehicle. The vehicle burglaries occurred over two-weeks leading up to Grimaldi’s arrest. Police identified Grimaldi through security camera footage and a video taken with a phone of the suspect burglarizing a vehicle, said Lt. M. Mohammadi, of the Los Angeles Police Department’s Olympic Division.

“It was a priority [to locate him],” Mohammadi said. “He was very, very active.”

The burglaries in the Olympic Division primarily occurred in neighborhoods near major streets around Beverly Boulevard and Western Avenue, and Vermont Avenue and Olympic and Pico boulevards. In the Wilshire Division, the auto burglaries occurred near Crenshaw and Pico boulevards.

The suspect allegedly drove around looking for potential vehicles with personal belongings inside to target. He allegedly used a tool similar to a hole punch to break windows.

“He was just coming up here to caper,” Mohammadi added. “The emphasis here is that it was a great collaboration between Olympic Division auto detectives and Wilshire Division auto detectives. We had several videos of him. We created a crime bulletin that was distributed to all the neighboring divisions, including Wilshire, and when he committed a burglary from a motor vehicle in Wilshire, the detectives conducted a follow-up and took him into custody.”

The suspect allegedly stole a laptop and detectives used a tracking device in the computer to find the suspect at his residence. Mohammadi said Grimaldi has an extensive criminal history involving unlawful possession of firearms and burglaries. Prior crimes were committed when the suspect was a juvenile. Grimaldi is being held on $615,000 bail and is expected to appear in court on Oct. 5.

Mohammadi said the case illustrates the need for motorists to lock vehicles and hide valuables and personal belongings when they park.

“They were crimes of opportunity,” Mohammadi said. “If he saw something inside, he would use a tool to smash the window.”

Anyone who has further information about the burglaries is asked to call the LAPD’s Olympic Division at (213)382-9455.