Some residents in Sherman Oaks, Encino and Van Nuys believe they are victims of the same burglary crew, with homeowners posting videos of look-alike thieves, all of whom appear to flee in a Toyota Camry.
Surveillance footage from an Aug. 8 attempted break-in at one of the homes, owned by a woman identified only as Sofia, shows two masked men in hoodies on her property.
“I actually saw one guy running down the side of my home,” she explained. “My heart dropped and right away, I called 911.”
The suspects, who might have gotten spooked, were on her property for less than two minutes before they turned around and were seen rushing down the side of her home and out the way they came.
Sofia, who said it took police about 20 minutes to arrive, believes she was targeted because she wasn’t at home. Just days later, on Aug. 15, there was another break-in in the same area, followed by one more on the night of Aug. 17.
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Surveillance footage of burglary crew on a homeowners property in the San Fernando Valley on Aug. 8, 2024. (TNLA) -
Surveillance footage of burglary crew on a homeowner’s property in 2024 in the San Fernando Valley. (2024) -
Surveillance footage of burglary crew on a homeowner’s property in 2024 in the San Fernando Valley. (2024) -
Damage seen to a sliding door caused by burglars in the San Fernando Valley. (TNLA)
“They go through the back sliding doors,” Sofia said. “They’ll check to see if the sliding door is open. If it’s not open, they’ll break the glass, but they are going in from the back.”
According to Sofia, about 30 minutes after the attempted break-in at home, she thinks the same Toyota Camry came back and then sped off when the suspects saw police at the scene.
It’s not uncommon for thieves to return to the scene of a break-in. A home in the Pacific Palisades had two break-ins in one night.
According to Crosstown L.A., an independent news organization, burglaries are up by 4% in the first half of 2024 compared to that time last year.
Most of the burglaries occur between 6 p.m. and midnight, Interim Los Angeles Police Department Chief Dominic Choi told the L.A. Police Commision in July. Choi added, “Some of these are when residents are actually home, what we consider a ‘hot prowl,’ which becomes much more serious.”
Sofia’s advice to others is to invest in an alarm system and security cameras for the home.
“If you’re not home, you need to leave your lights on, you need to give the illusion that there is someone home,” she said. “Something needs to be done because my heart goes out to people who have to go through this and it’s getting out of line. I know we can do something, we can do better.”
Neighborhoods in the San Fernando Valley have been hit particularly hard this year, with at least eight burglaries reported in the Valley in July alone.