Feb. 13 turned out to be a busy day for a Los Angeles resident and the Glendale Police Department.
Forty-seven-year-old James Langdon had his first run-in with police in the wee hours of the morning on that day. He was observed pacing in a parking lot “near the intersection of Colorado St. and Louise St.” around 3 a.m., according to a news release Thursday from the GPD.
At some point, Langdon bolted across a street while the crosswalk sign read “Don’t Walk,” the release said. Police pursued him, and he ran.
He was detained a short while later, put up a brief struggle and then requested medical attention, according to police. After being transported to a local hospital and given a notice to appear in court later on an obstruction charge, Langdon was released.
About six-and-a-half hours later, police got a call about a trespasser who they said ended up being the same man from early that morning.
“Upon arrival, officers located Langdon who was determined to have entered the business and was attempting to gain entry to a closed part of the business with a screwdriver when he was interrupted by an employee,” the news release said.
“Langdon was subsequently arrested and booked for trespassing, but due to L.A. County’s emergency ‘Zero-Dollar’ bail order, Langdon was released from custody within three hours of being booked with a notice to appear in court at a later date,” it said.
The third time’s a charm, and that evening police said they once again got a call involving their fast friend — this time, for a burglary at an apartment building on Balboa Avenue.
“So he had actually gone and put their clothes on, was drinking alcohol in their apartment, making a mess, destroying things,” Glendale Police Sgt. Christian Hauptmann told KCBS-TV.
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When authorities arrived at the apartment building, they said, Langdon was walking along the hallway. When he spotted police, he ran back to the apartment he’d been ransacking and locked the door, according to the news release.
Police surrounded the area and a K-9 unit showed up while Langdon continued to refuse to leave. Eventually, police persuaded him to exit the bedroom he’d been hiding in, the news release said.
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Langdon was arrested for burglary and felony vandalism, the release said, putting an end to the criminal game of hide-and-seek he’d been playing that day.
In total, he caused about $6,000 in property damage during his last stunt, according to police. He was being held on $150,000 bail.
LA County Deputy District Attorney Jon Hatami said zero-bail policies brought about by LA County District Attorney George Gascón were to blame for this sort of escalating criminality.
“If you’re allowing somebody to commit three crimes in a 16-hour span and, basically, you know, terrorize people in Glendale without any public safety concern, and I don’t think George Gascón cares,” Hatami said, according to KCBS.
“Nobody’s getting prosecuted for lower-level crimes, and what happens then is they commit higher-level crimes,” he said.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
