“A hundred” scooter-riding thieves attempted to rob multiple homes evacuated due to the wildfires ripping through Southern California, a woman told KTLA on Thursday.
Allison Agsten, a Los Angeles-area resident, said her neighbor witnessed the suspects trying to “get into any and all houses” in her neighborhood. Attempting to thwart burglaries, Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the deployment of 8,000 California National Guard troops to secure fire-ravaged zones Thursday after Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said his department arrested 20 people on suspicion of looting affected areas.
“We just started seeing all these cars pull up,” Agsten told the outlet. “Doors open, and groups of men are running up our street, going up to the doors of these houses … my next-door neighbor said, his quote, ‘there were like a hundred people that came up on scooters and were trying to get into any and all houses.’”
HUNDREDS OF LOOTERS INVADE PALISADES NEIGHBORHOOD
‘Cars pull up, doors open, and groups of men run up to the doors of evacuated houses. There were 100 people who came up on scooters and were trying to get into any and all houses.’pic.twitter.com/F86N1AzmlI
— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) January 10, 2025
“Our cameras saw three men on scooters immediately turn around when they saw police,” Madisen Keavy, a reporter for KCAL News, said Wednesday. “I talked with a homeowner. She said she thinks she will be leaving soon, but is making sure her house is as safe as it could be.”
Multiple California officials have promised severe consequences for those convicted of theft or burglary amid the wildfires, which have forced some 180,000 Southern California residents from their homes, Luna said.
“They’ll be looking at going to jail. They’ll be looking at going to prison. They’ll be looking to pay back anything they stole. They’ll be looking at community service,” L.A. County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said in an interview with NewsNation’s Ashleigh Banfield. “There isn’t a type of punishment we won’t consider for them, because basically I view these crimes as despicable.”
“The day and age of a DA’s office standing on the sidelines is over. We want to bring justice, and we will,” Hochman continued.
“I promise you, you will be held accountable. Shame on those who are preying on our residents during this time of crisis,” L.A. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger said during a press conference Thursday.
“Looting will not be tolerated. These communities have suffered enough,” Newsom posted on X Thursday. “The National Guard deployment will bring our total on-the-ground personnel to 8,000. We will continue to use every resource available to keep our communities safe.”
Despite local outlets reporting on the looters, an L.A. County Sheriff’s Department spokesperson told the Daily Caller News Foundation that police “haven’t heard of scooter riding thieves” and there were “no reports of that in our area.”
The L.A. County Medical Examiner reported 10 fire-related fatalities as of Thursday night. Firefighters have reached 8% containment of the Palisades fire, the largest of six major wildfires, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.
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