LAPD investigating more than 100 cases of 'follow-home' robberies
LOS ANGELES - The Los Angeles Police Department is investigating more than 100 cases of "follow-home" robberies.
According to police, suspects would target victims while they were out, follow them to their homes and commit the robberies as the victims were arriving home.
Due to the new crime trend, Robbery-Homicide detectives began tracking various robberies and found that most victims were being followed from places such as Melrose Avenue, the Jewelry District in downtown, high-end restaurants and nightclubs from Hollywood and Wilshire Area.
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Officials say victims were being targeted based on the jewelry they were wearing or the car they were driving.
Detectives say not all the cases are related in terms of the same suspect.
"Out of the 110 incidents being tracked, 107 involve suspects identified as male Blacks. In three of the cases the suspects are identified as male Hispanics. In these series, at least six different LA street gangs have been identified. It is our opinion that these crimes are all a trend, similar to the trend experienced a year or two ago with the "knock-knock" burglaries in which different crews/gangs participated in the same type of residential burglary," a statement from the police department read.
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Anyone with information is urged to contact RHD at (213) 486-6840. During non-business hours or on weekends, calls should be directed to 1-877-LAPD-24-7 (1-877-527-3247). Anyone wishing to remain anonymous should call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (800-222-8477). Tipsters may also go to lapdonline.org and click on "Anonymous Web Tips."
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