Eight alleged gang members accused of 92 residential burglaries in Los Angeles since 2022 have been arrested as part of a sweep by law enforcement agencies, authorities announced on Monday, Aug. 25.
McDonnell said the suspected burglary crew was not believed to be involved in a recent rash of burglaries in and around Encino.
Most of the crimes happened in 2024 and 2025, Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell said, “impacting families across our city.” The burglaries mostly occurred in West Los Angeles, but there were also some in the San Fernando Valley and in central L.A.
About 5 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 20, LAPD, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, and Hawthorne and Inglewood police departments served search warrants at eight homes in Los Angeles, Hawthorne, Inglewood and Carson, recovering evidence including 15 firearms, high-end watches and bracelets, burglary tools, narcotics, radios and several firearm magazines, McDonnell said.
The eight suspects, ranging in age from 20 to 47, lived in such cities as Los Angeles, Hawthorne and Lawndale. Seven were arrested during the sweeps, while an arrest warrant was issued for the eighth, who turned himself in two days later.
Two other men were identified as being involved in the burglary crew, but were already in custody on suspicion of unrelated attempted murder charges, police said.
“These individuals represent the kind of repeat offenders we are targeting through our suppression strategies and their arrests underscore our progress in reducing burglaries and other crimes,” the chief said.
A break in the case came on Feb. 13 when LAPD officers arrested three members of the crew following a vehicle pursuit, McDonnell said. The officers had recognized a white van used in two residential burglaries the night before. Detectives used information obtained following those arrests to identify additional suspects.
In April, a search warrant was served in Los Angeles and detectives recovered five handguns, ammunition, body armor, high-capacity magazines, purses, jewelry, watches, a fake ID and multiple license plates, the chief said.
“You look at everything that was taken here — just a major hit to any family that was impacted,” McDonnell said. “This evidence directly connects the crew to these crimes and strengthens our cases.”
Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said some of the alleged suspects have one or two strikes against them and could face life in prison if convicted.
He said those charged were not from the neighborhoods where the crimes took place.
“They come in here, not because they need anything, but because of greed,” Hochman said. “They don’t want to use (the stolen items) for their own benefit, they are using that (to get) money.”
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass called the arrests a “major win” for the city, adding they were “part of a bigger story,” with the number of homicides and other violent crimes down.
“This crew, which had victimized families and businesses, is no longer a threat to our neighborhoods,” she said. “We know that there’s a lot more to keeping every Angeleno safe, but let me be clear — we will not stop doing whatever we need to do to combat crime.”