LAPD cadets go on lengthy crime spree

LOS ANGELES — If the group of young Los Angeles police cadets accused of stealing department vehicles had any fear of getting caught, they didn’t show it.

For weeks, according to documents, the teenagers used police cars to drive to and from Los Angeles Police Department related events and on joyrides as far away as Corona and Santa Clarita. Some of the cadets used the vehicles to perform “doughnuts” behind an Inglewood store and one drove a stolen LAPD vehicle to his job at a store in Hawthorne.

There were other blatant actions: A high-ranking cadet described as “the ringleader” of the group asked someone to film him driving a cruiser, and they often drove with flashing lights and sirens blaring — in one instance racing through South L.A. to Hawthorne to move one teenager’s personal vehicle before it was towed.

Still, it took Los Angeles police nearly two months to discover the cadets’ alleged misbehavior and take action.

The new details about the alleged activities are contained in a search warrant recently obtained by The Los Angeles Times.

As police continue to investigate, the key question is less why the cadets took advantage of their positions and more why their actions went undetected for so long.

The new disclosures are contained in court papers related to Robert Cain, a former LAPD officer accused of having sex with a 15-yearold female cadet while he was on the force. Luis Carrillo, the girl’s attorney, said the alleged transgressions and the delay in uncovering them show that the department needs much closer handling of the cadets.