Community
Lock it, Hide it, Keep it
Lock it, Hide it, Keep it 
MID-CITY-- Wilshire Auto Detectives are reminding residents to remain vigilant against auto-related crimes, even after the recent arrest of three juvenile suspects.
In the past two weeks, Wilshire patrol officers arrested a 17-year-old suspect in the 100 South Block of Formosa Avenue and two 15-year-olds near the intersection of La Brea Avenue and Edgewood Place. Detectives do not believe the suspects were working together, but they were caught stealing property from vehicles in the early hours of the morning. All three received citations and their parents took custody of them following their arrests.
“Even though we have good news at the moment, we can’t afford to let our guard down,” said Detective Salvador Loera, Wilshire’s autos coordinator. “Suspects talk to each other—even when we catch them, they let their friends know where to find nice things. We want to make sure they stay away from Wilshire and don’t steal your property.”
The common thread between all three arrests was that the victims left their car doors unlocked. Detectives are encouraging residents to ensure they secure their vehicles, don’t leave property inside and especially make sure they keep spare keys away from the cars. In addition, they’re encouraging residents to remain vigilant and keep an eye out for people walking through neighborhoods late at night, looking into cars with flashlights or walking into driveways.
“We never would have made these arrests without good neighbors calling 911 when they saw something strange,” Loera said. “We appreciate all the extra sets of eyes and ears out there—if we keep working together, we can keep chipping away at the crime problem.”
Address/Location
LAPD - Wilshire Area
4861 Venice Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90019
Contact
Emergency: 9-1-1
Non-emergencies: 213-473-0200
