Crime Follow-up: 14 Property Crimes in 4 Days

The Eagle Rock area experienced a slight spike in reported incidents of auto theft over the weekend around the time of Saturday’s music festival—but many of the cases turned out to involve auto owners who had misplaced their vehicles in the festival crush.

That’s the assessment from the watch commander at the Northeast Community Station, Lt. Mike Menza, who told Eagle Rock Patch Wednesday that police officers are still in the process of “booking property” crimes in and around the neighborhood and that firm statistics aren’t handy yet.

Spike in Auto Burglaries, Car Thefts

As we reported Tuesday, the nationwide security database Crimemapping.com, which gets its statistics from the LAPD and other law enforcement agencies, recorded as many as 14 property crimes in Eagle Rock in the four-day period from September 25 to September 29.

Several burglary suspects believed to be driving around Northeast neighborhoods and breaking into houses have been arrested over the past few days, Menza said, adding that their detention was largely possible because “neighbors were good enough to give us a call when they noticed somebody suspicious.”

Weak Economy Made Seasonal Trend Worse

A sluggish economy, combined with the recently hot weather that results in more people on the streets during the night, were the primary factors behind the crime surge, Menza said, adding: “We’ll see a downward spike in crime because of the rain.”

Asked if the recent spate of burglaries from vehicles might be the handiwork of some gang of auto thieves, Menza said “there’s no organized syndicate stealing cars right now that we’re aware of.”

The LAPD watch commander also clarified that at least one of the two incidents of “assault with a deadly weapon” that occurred near on September 23 and September 27 was related to “somebody threatening or hitting somebody with a two-by-four piece of construction lumber.”