More Than 200 SoCal Follow-Home Robberies Blamed on LA Gangs (Video)

On Tuesday, Los Angeles police reported five follow-home robberies in the past 48 hours, rising from the 78% decline in March vs. its peak in November.

According to Capt. Jonathan Tippet, who leads the Follow Home Robbery Task Force, the phenomenon in which armed suspects follow victims from restaurants and shopping areas such as Melrose Avenue and the Jewelry District to rob them of jewelry, watches, or vehicles, was “almost unheard of” until last year.

“In my 34 years in the LAPD, I have never seen this type of criminal behavior in such large groups coordinating to conduct attacks on unsuspecting citizens to take their property and vehicles,” Tippet told the commission.

In September and October, the department recorded 51 “violent, armed robberies.” On Nov. 23, the task force was formed, with 18 detectives, 11 investigators from the Robbery-Homicide Division, four from the Office of Operations, and three from the Detective Bureau.

According to Tippet, the task force changed the department’s typical procedure of waiting to identify all people engaged in a robbery before making arrests when dealing with follow-home robbery investigations.

“Due to the crisis, we began making arrests as quickly as possible once individuals were identified,” he said, adding that it effectively reduced the number of the incidents. “This has been a major undertaking, however, I am confident that we are slowing this trend down,” Tippet said.

In November, the department reported 26 instances in two weeks. Only seven follow-home robberies were reported in the most recent two weeks, and only three in the two weeks before that, according to Tippet.

Tippet said the agency is looking into five follow-home robberies recorded in the last 48 hours.

Between the task force’s establishment in November and April, 221 follow-home robberies were reported.

The police believe 17 gangs from South Los Angeles are engaged in the robberies, but many are purportedly from opposing gangs and are not cooperating.

According to Tippet, the task force has handled one murder investigation with four arrests, two attempted murder investigations, 125 robbery investigations, five attempted robbery investigations, five assault with deadly weapon investigations, five grand theft investigations, and two incidents where shots were fired into occupied residences.

The West Bureau had 130 recorded follow-home robberies, with 50 in Hollywood, 46 in Wilshire, 17 in Pacific, and 15 in West L.A. The Central Bureau reported 49 follow-home robberies, 40 occurring in the downtown Los Angeles area, including the Jewelry District.

Thirteen people were shot in 23 of the incidents where bullets were fired.

“We have seen countless individuals traumatized by having a gun pointed at them and (being) robbed … many others are dealing with the trauma and injuries from being tackled, kicked, beaten, punched, and are pistol-whipped to the head. It’s a miracle that more deaths have not occurred,” Tippet said.