A series of destructive burglaries targeting a Studio City community has residents fed up and taking matters into their own hands.
Many of the burglaries in the Laurelwood neighborhood were caught on camera as the suspects escaped with thousands of dollars worth of valuable items.
“Last night, a house got broken into,” said Gregory Nagy, a Studio City homeowner. “A week ago, my neighbor got broken into. They were so fast, by the time I got out, they were up the hill and gone.
Nagy says his daughter recently stopped burglars from entering a home next door.
“She looked out the window and saw two individuals huddled down and heard them,” Nagy said. “She shouted out, ‘Get the hell off my property!’”
Earlier in June, the same Studio City neighborhood was targeted by thieves disguised as construction workers who used Wi-Fi-jamming technology to disable a home’s security cameras.
They ransacked the home and escaped with tens of thousands of dollars worth of jewelry, watches and valuables.
“That happened on my street,” said Coralia Lesi, a neighbor. “Everyone is very concerned. Everyone is on alert. Unfortunately, we do have to take matters into our own hands.”
The community is now banding together to put an end to the constant crime.
Following the burglaries, a woman who did not wish to be identified created an emergency text thread with her neighbors.
“We have a little over 90 people now on our group text messaging chain,” she said.
Some residents are considering hiring private security to protect their homes. They have also invited officers from the Los Angeles Police Department to their next neighborhood watch meeting in hopes of highlighting the issue and ending the incessant crime wave.
“[We have] 50 plus neighbors that were going to be advised by the police department on what we can and cannot do,” Nagy said. “What methods and procedures we can take. We see suspicious people and we record them.”
“Everybody wants to feel safe and secure in their own neighborhood,” the unidentified woman said.
Many residents told KTLA they would be moving their valuables out of their homes and placing them into bank safe deposit boxes and other secure facilities.
On Tuesday night, volunteers from the LAPD were patrolling the neighborhood at night. The neighborhood watch meeting is scheduled to take place on Wednesday.