3 burglary suspects are arrested
Three suspected “knockknock” burglars who are believed to have targeted San Fernando Valley homes are in custody after Los Angeles police say they caught them trying to get into a Valley Village home.
Diamante Darthard, 21; Justus Jones, 18; and an unidentified juvenile were apprehended by North Hollywood Division LAPD officers, who said the three tried to break into the rear of a home in Valley Village on Tuesday. It is unclear whether they are suspected in any of the recent celebrity home burglaries — many of which occurred in the south San Fernando Valley.
Tuesday’s arrests came after the juvenile knocked on the door of a home in the Valley Village area, police said. A resident answered the door, and the juvenile said he had knocked on the wrong door and walked away, police said. He then met with Darthard at a nearby singlefamily residence, investigators said. The two then approached the front door of another home and knocked, police said.
When no one answered, Darthard and the juvenile were joined by Jones as they walked to the side and then the rear of the home, police said. As the trio tried to enter the residence, investigators said, they were arrested.
LAPD Lt. Todd Hankel, who oversees the knockknock task force formed earlier this year, said knockknock burglars target affluent single-family homes and the group typically comprises criminal street gang members from South Los Angeles.
Officials said the burglars tend to select homes based on the likelihood of the residents having money, jewelry or firearms and then knock on the front door to determine whether anyone is home. If no answers, they enter through a rear door, side door or second-floor balcony. In some cases, burglars disable the alarm or knock out the power, and they have been known to remove unbolted safes from houses.
The Valley Village area targeted this week is part of an LAPD Division where there were more than 850 burglaries in 2016. Burglaries in that area are down about 6% this year compared with the same period last year.
Darthard and Jones each are being held in lieu of $250,000 bail.