A home in Encino was broken into Thursday afternoon, a day after the Los Angeles Police Department announced it would be increasing patrols and enforcement in the neighborhood to address a rise in burglaries.
The Thursday break-in happened around 12:55 p.m. at a home on the 4300 block of Valley Meadow Road in Encino, involving five to six men wearing masks and driving a black Mercedes.
The Los Angeles Police Department responded to the scene with assistance from a police helicopter overhead.
No further details about that break-in were made available by police.
On Wednesday, the LAPD announced a “crime suppression strategy” in Encino, with a “comprehensive” deployment plan underway following several break-ins in the neighborhood, including one that proved deadly.
Police officials described the increased enforcement as an “‘all-hands-on-deck’ approach.”
That crime strategy was said to feature increased patrols and visibility, more aerial coverage from law enforcement helicopters, and even use of mounted patrols. This in addition to ongoing community outreach programs, officials said.
Encino has been the site of at least five home invasion burglaries in recent weeks, including one at the home of reality TV stars Edwin Arroyave and Teddi Mellencamp.
But no crime has shook the upscale neighborhood quite as much as the violent double-homicide of television executive Robin Kaye and her musician husband Thomas DeLuca.
The couple were discovered dead inside their heavily fortified, nearly $5 million home after they were shot multiple times in the body and head with a gun they owned.
Investigators believe that Raymond Boodarian, now charged with two counts of murder and one count of residential burglary, scaled the wall outside the home and entered through an unlocked door on July 10.
Despite two calls to 911 in relation to a possible break-in at the home that day, one of which may have been from the suspect himself, police didn’t discover the murdered couple until four days later when they returned to the property for a welfare check.
The Police Department has faced heated criticism for its response to those 911 calls, which also shed light on previous victims in the San Fernando Valley who were discovered hours and even days after someone had called for help.
Despite these public concerns, LAPD officials say that crime in Encino is actually down year-over-year, although officials conceded that crime statistic don’t offer much solace to those living with concern and the fallout of a violent crime spree in their neighborhood.
The investigation into these recently burglaries, as well as the murders of Kaye and DeLuca, remain ongoing. Anyone with information should contact the LAPD Anonymous tips can be provided online or by calling 800-222-8477.
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