The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) arrested a 28-year-old man in connection with a home break-in reported just before 10 p.m. on Dec. 20 in Bel Air. Police continue to search for a second prowler related to the same incident. The residents were not home at the time of the break-in, and no injuries or theft were reported, LAPD told the Courier.
The homeowners’ private security personnel were alerted to the break-in and notified police of the intrusion before detaining Carl Davis of Long Beach who was later taken into LAPD custody, police said. A second unknown prowler fled the scene on foot.
“Looks like the suspect was just in the house smoking a cigar and mixing some drinks,” Officer Drake Madison of the LAPD Public Communications Group Media Relations Division told the Courier. “It just looked like he was making himself at home.”
The home in question is a 38,000-square-foot mansion in the 900 block of Bel Air Road.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office was not immediately able to provide updates on the status of the arrest or potential criminal charges, but LAPD said it does not look like a burglary took place at the Bel Air home.
“To consume some drinks and smoke a cigar, it’s just kind of strange activity,” Madison said.
Despite recent cases in hillside communities, break-ins like this remain rare, according to ACS Security, which provides private security patrols in Bel Air.
“It’s so unusual that they would do that because it’s such a high penalty for that,” ACS Security’s Director of Patrol Operations Tod Woodburn told the Courier. “I’ve seen follow-homes, some of those, but not home invasions. It does happen, but it’s very rare.”
LAPD recently reported a follow-home style robbery when a man and a woman stopped at a gas station on Sepulveda Boulevard near Bel Air Dec. 12. The couple was robbed at gunpoint after shopping at a Rolex store in Beverly Hills. When the couple stopped at the gas station they were accosted by four men driving in a Toyota Corolla. There was a confrontation in which one of the victims was struck on the head with a gun. The robbers then made off with a Rolex watch and other jewelry, LAPD told the Courier.
Still, crime is low in Bel Air, and West L.A. has seen a drop in violent crime reports in 2021 compared to 2019. LAPD West L.A. Policing Area, which includes Bel Air, Westwood Village and more, reported 970 burglaries this year through Dec. 18. That’s down 96 compared to 2019, which saw 1,066.
Where Bel Air is concerned, Crimemapping.com data indicates that few of West LA’s crimes are reported from the Bel Air area, with high concentrations in Westwood Village and the surrounding flats.
Car theft nearly doubled in West L.A. in 2021, jumping from 379 reported thefts in 2019 to 697 in 2021 so far. LAPD has alerted residents in the area that property theft from vehicles is also up.
“Auto-related crimes are still our hot topic, do not leave valuables in your car. Most [burglary from motor vehicle] suspects will walk around the neighborhood or parking structure looking for something to steal,” said LAPD in a December Newsletter statement. “If you are visiting the Village area, be mindful of your surroundings. We have had a couple brandishings of a weapon in the area in the past. Be aware of your surroundings due to numerous follow-home robberies in Los Angeles.”
LAPD is still investigating the Dec. 20 break-in.
