Dear Abbot Kinney Triangle Neighbors—

While we won’t generally use this email newsletter forum for updates on crime or suspicious activity, when something comes up that is of broad enough import to share, we will indeed alert you.

3 MORE HOT PROWLS OVER WEEKEND
This morning, we received an email from Officer Pete Abskharon with some disturbing news:

• I wanted to let you know that we had three hot-prowl burglaries on Amoroso Place, Marco Place, and Linden Ave. over the weekend. One involved an encounter with the suspect simulating a handgun underneath his clothing. All three of the hot prowls involved unlocked doors. I can’t imagine the lasting effect this can have on someone.
• Please help Peggy Thusing and me by spreading the word to the AKT folks to lock the windows/doors of the rooms they are not utilizing. One of these hot prowls involved the victim leaving the door unlocked for 5 to 10 minutes. The fingerprint unit responded to all three locations and if we have extra units we are deploying them in the Venice/Oakwood area. Thanks again for your help!

As we discussed in our neighborhood meeting on Wednesday, November 21, some 80 percent of burglaries in our neighborhood involve unlocked doors or windows. While we don’t want to feel like prisoners in our own homes, and we all love—and, without air-conditioning, need—the ocean breeze, we must balance that against the knowledge of what’s going on in our neighborhood.

In preparing for our neighborhood meeting, we talked to four police officers. All said that we are being watched. Most burglaries are committed by repeat offenders—in some cases, one arrest can clear up to 30 burglaries. When asked “Why Venice,” the burglars say “Because residents leave their doors and windows unlocked.” This is our reputation among criminals. We must change this.

Please do review the list of what we can do to protect ourselves, as mentioned in the previous newsletter, which was highly praised by the LAPD officers, downloadable from our blog here.

SUSPICIOUS INDIVIDUAL: BOLO
While we are on the topic and already sending out a newsletter, we’d also like to let you know of a BOLO—”be on the lookout”—for a suspicious individual a neighbor sighted, as an example of what we need to be watching for.

• Yesterday I caught a young hispanic male, early 20s, approximately 5’9”/145lbs, short cropped hair, peeing in our alley. I got into a verbal confrontation with him and he continued walking down the alley. I went around front because I remembered seeing him get out of his parked car about 15 minutes prior. A few minutes later he got in his car and left.
• This morning I saw him again. He parked in the same place and walked towards Andalusia as if he was heading to Abbot Kinney. About 15 minutes later, he returned to his car from the direction of Riviera and Rialto, got back in his car and left.
• That’s two days in a row he was in the neighborhood for a short period of time, walking the alleys.

Here is a picture of his car:

As mentioned at the top of this newsletter, we won’t send around all BOLOs because we don’t feel like it’s a good use of this particular medium.

The best medium for BOLOs—both for reporting and for following—is Venice311‘s fabulous Twitter feed, a real community service if ever there was. And obviously, call 911 for anything that goes beyond suspicion.

Finally, a reminder: We still need volunteers for the AKT organizing committee and for block captains. Please consider getting more involved—it doesn’t take much time, and it yields considerable returns.

Best,

The Abbot Kinney Triangle Neighbors Association Organizing Committee
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Emergency contact information:

• 911 for in-progress crimes and life-threatening emergencies
• Police dispatch: (818) 734-2223
• LAPD Pacific Division: (310) 482-6334
• Senior Lead Officer Peggy Thusing: Mobile (310) 622-3968, [email protected]
• Abandoned Vehicles: 800-ABANDON (222-6366)
• Graffiti Problems: 311
• Councilman Mike Bonin’s office (council district 11): (310) 568-8772, [email protected]
• Cecilia Castillo, Mike Bonin’s CD11 Venice Deputy: [email protected]