ANOTHER LA JOLLA BURGLARY ATTRIBUTED TO CRIME RING

Two weeks after meeting with community members about a series of residential burglaries in La Jolla linked to a South American crime ring, San Diego police told the La Jolla Town Council on Thursday that another burglary occurred about a week ago, bringing the local total attributed to the ring to 19.

At the community meeting Feb. 22, police said no similar burglaries had occurred in La Jolla since Jan. 21.

Police Lt. Rick Aguilar told the Town Council that the latest burglary is still under investigation and he was unable to release more details.

The crime ring has been connected to other burglaries across San Diego County, as well as in other areas of California, Tennessee, Florida and “all the way up into the New York area,” Aguilar said.

Since January, the San Diego Police Department’s Northern Division has increased its presence in La Jolla, with officers patrolling on overtime and plainclothes officers also keeping watch.

At one home in the Northwestern Division, which includes neighborhoods such as Sorrento Valley, Del Mar Heights and Carmel Valley, burglars were confronted by homeowners and “took off right away,” with the homeowners giving chase in their car, Aguilar said. The thieves threw a jacket out the window and “we were able to recover that jacket and are getting a lot of intelligence off of (it),” he said.

The burglars typically break into a door or window at the back of a house, usually upstairs since windows on upper floors are less likely to have alarms, he said.

Then they head to the primary bedroom looking for expensive jewelry, Aguilar said.

“Before they commit all their burglaries, they do a lot of surveillance themselves,” he said. They also dress in high-end clothing and drive “nice vehicles” to blend into the neighborhood.

Aguilar said SDPD has not yet arrested any suspects, though a few arrests have been made in Anaheim and Newport Beach.

Aguilar advised people to activate their home alarm when leaving the house and ensure that surveillance cameras are working. He suggested motion-activated lights and encouraged residents to use hidden safes for valuables.