Police in Watts say mysterious stranger not a threat
LOS ANGELES - Editor's Note: The LAPD says they know who the man was in the ring doorbell video at Joahnn Ramirez’s apartment. They said he’s somebody who lives in the neighborhood who has a mental health issue and cannot remember where he lives.
Consider this a cautionary tale from a Watts neighborhood.
As Los Angeles Police Department’s Sgt. Paul Gonzales knocks on the door of Jojo Ramirez's apartment, he asks about her first visit from police after an incident on August 31 in which a man could be seen in her Ring doorbell video following her, walking up to her door after she walks into her apartment and then starts to jiggle the door knob as if to see he could get in.
"I was getting out of my car, walking up to my apartment and I get into my house and I just heard the doorknob wiggle," Ramirez said.
That wiggle was an audible sound. She goes on.
"I look at my app, my ring door app. I see a guy standing outside and I just freak out," she said.
"Who is it? Get out of here!" Ramirez can be heard saying.
Ramirez has no idea who the man is or why he's at her door.
"It was just pretty creepy to see a guy on the Ring door app outside. I heard the door knob wiggle... and, I was thinking, ‘What does he want?’" she said.
"You see him wiggle the door? Try to come in uninvited?" Sgt. Gonzales asks Ramirez.
"Yes," she responds. She told police she has never seen him before.
Police say since he didn't follow through it's hard to know what he wanted. And, though not charged yet, police say it looks like a case of attempted trespassing. That's a misdemeanor but it's unsettling nonetheless.
"Always be aware of your surroundings. Don't just jump out of your car. Don't just assume everything is just safe and cleared. Look around. See who's around," Sgt. Gonzales said.
The man at the door has not been charged, though he is under investigation for misdemeanor trespassing.
LAPD on Monday says they know who the man was in the ring doorbell video at Joahnn Ramirez’s apartment. They said he’s somebody who lives in the neighborhood who has a mental health issue and cannot remember where he lives.
They say that the tips they gave are still valid because you never know who’s coming to your door in the dark of night. But, they also want to put out the word that they don’t consider him to be harmful and don’t want neighbors to worry that there may be someone lurking around the neighborhood that they should be concerned about.