Three Burglary Suspects Apprehended in Castellammare

Burglary suspects were arrested early this morning February 10.

Early Saturday morning, February 7, a Black Knight security officer noticed a black Mercedes SUV with no license plates parked on Quadro Vecchio Drive in the Castellammare area of Pacific Palisades. The officer did not see anyone in or near the car. As he made his rounds in the neighborhood, he continued to check on the vehicle. That car eventually left the area.

Later that morning it was determined that the occupants of the vehicle had broken into a house on Quadro Vecchio Drive, entering through the rear of the residence.

Surveillance video from a neighboring house shows the vehicle arriving, the occupants exiting, a security officer driving by several times and illuminating the vehicle with his spotlights to check for occupants, and finally the suspects leaving in the vehicle.

After learning of the burglary, security was advised to contact LAPD if the vehicle was spotted again.

That same evening, a security officer spotted the vehicle parked in the same spot on Quadro Vecchio Drive, this time occupied by a male and female who were sleeping – the officer was able to get a photo of the suspects while they were sleeping.  The officer called 911, and the operator dispatched the fire department and LAPD.

The fire department arrived first, and the lights from the fire truck woke the occupants up and they sped out of the neighborhood, driving recklessly, running several stop signs, making a chase for the security company impossible.

For the next two nights the Black Knight security company added extra patrols. At 2 a.m. on February 10, a security officer observed the vehicle parked five blocks away on Giardino Way and radioed another officer for help. They used their vehicles to block the suspect’s car and called LAPD.

After police arrived, the suspects attempted to flee, including one who jumped over several fences. LAPD deployed a helicopter equipped with a thermal camera and all three were located and apprehended. It is alleged these same three had broken into three more residences, including two on Monte Grigio.  The suspects, two men and a woman, are in custody and two vehicles have been impounded.