Rise in Burglaries at the Medici Luxury Apartments NR11580cj

Los Angeles:  Since November 20, 2011, five residential burglaries have been reported at the two luxury apartments on the 700 block of Bixel Street.  The burglaries are taking place at all hours of the day and night with the suspect(s) removing small electronic devices such as cameras and laptops, along with jewelry.  The suspects appear to be entering through unsecured apartment front doors, patio sliders and bedroom windows.  In the latest incident, a victim stated she locked and secured her front door, walked downstairs to retrieve her mail and returned to her apartment a few minutes later.  When she arrived, she saw a man walking out of the apartment with her laptop.  The suspect was described as an 18 to 20-year-old African American man weighing around 150 pounds.  

Other burglaries have also been reported at an apartment in the 600 block of South St Paul Avenue and another in the 1200 block of West 3rd Street.  Both apartment buildings are owned by the same company within the Westlake District in Rampart Area. The burglary on St Paul Avenue took place in late November of 2011 and the suspect fled with around $70,000 in jewelry.  The burglaries are a recent spike since the prior arrest of another male African American suspect at the Bixel Street apartments in August 2011.  Earlier this year, several burglaries, burglary from motor vehicles and other property crimes were taking place at the Bixel Street Apartments. The trend slowed after August but has spiked again since November.  It is unknown if the burglaries are related to one another but residents are urged to lock and secure their apartment’s at all times.   

Anyone with information about these crimes or who can help identify any suspects associated with these crimes is asked to call Rampart Burglary Detective’s at (213) 484-3490.  During non-business hours or on weekends, calls should be directed to 1-877-LAPD-24-7 (1-877-527-3247).   Anyone wishing to remain anonymous should call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (1-800-222-8477).  Tipsters may also contact Crime Stoppers by texting to phone number 274637 (C-R-I-M-E-S on most keypads) with a cell phone.  All text messages should begin with the letters “LAPD.” Tipsters may also go to LAPDOnline.org, click on "webtips" and follow the prompts.