Unfortunately, in the midst of holiday celebrations, we need to alert you to a crime/scam that is being perpetrated in the area: 

This describes a Burglary on La Cuesta on Saturday Dec 29, 2007.  But a similar MO was perpetrated on Jupiter in Mt. Olympus just 2 weeks ago.  We don't know if they were the same people, because the property was not large enough for two teams, as in this case----probably just 2 guys, and they stole only valuables kept temporarily (but quite obviously) in an open garage.

A home on La Cuesta near Lisco Place was broken into yesterday at 12:15 PM. The burglary occurred as part of a scam with two men pretending to be a tree-trimming company.

The neighbor was approached, unsolicited, on Thursday at her home by a man named Mike who said that he was a tree guy working in the area who wanted to give her a price for trimming her trees. He said they were a family-owned business that had been operating for 30 years with full licensing, bonding, and worker's comp. The neighbor made arrangements with Mike to walk the property with him yesterday.

Mike arrived at the neighbor's house yesterday with his "dad." They were very polite and the father was talking on his Nextel, supposedly to a worker at one of the jobs in the area. The neighbor drove with them to the top of her property (on Mulholland) and discussed the tree-trimming work. When the men dropped her back off at her house, she found that her home had been broken into and robbed. The burglars came in through a sliding glass door at the back of the house, possibly using a crowbar to bend the frame of the door and break the lock. This was very frightening for the neighbor since her elderly mother was home during the robbery, asleep in a bedroom. The men were aware that the mother was home, but proceeded to rob the home anyhow.

In hindsight, the neighbor says that the one overtly suspicious thing about them was their lack of business cards or paperwork. They gave her an excuse that someone had stolen all of that from their car recently.

The burglars took jewelry, a palm pilot, and possibly other items. They went through all of the purses in the neighbor's bedroom, every dresser drawer and her linen closet.

BURGLAR DESCRIPTIONS

"MIKE”
About 5’9”
Black hair, or really dark brown
Light blue eyes (unusually light blue)
Fair skin
Good build – in good shape
Had slight accent
Early to mid 20’s
Talked a lot

“DAD”
Shorter than “Mike”, maybe 5’5”
Black hair
Looked maybe Italian
Dark skin, dark hair
Heavier than "Mike"
Maybe mid 40's
English was great
Spoke on Nextel-type phone in foreign language that wasn't Spanish

THEIR CAR
Dark blue compact station wagon, probably about 10 years old.
Possibly a Volvo
Camel color interior
Power windows

The car and appearance of the people who actually broke into the neighbor's home is not now.

WHAT YOU CAN DO

Be wary of all solicitors and unexpected people who approach your home. If you are going to do business with a company or contractor that you are unfamiliar with, be sure to verify their business by receiving written paperwork and identification and checking with the Better Business Bureau <http://www.labbb.org> .

Keep an eye out for the car or people described above. If you see someone or a car matching the description, call the Hollywood Watch Commander (213.485.4328 or 1.877.ASK.LAPD) and Officer Isabella to make a report.

And as always:
 

• LOCK: Lock your doors and windows and set your  alarms, even if you're just going out for a few minutes.  
• LOOK: Please continue to keep an eye out for  this suspicious individual and other suspicious people and vehicles.  
• RECORD: Take pictures. Get license numbers.  Write down vehicle descriptions. Share security camera footage with police.  
• REPORT:
   
  • Call 911 if the situation is requires urgent response.  
  • Call non-emergency dispatch if the situation is not urgent: Hollywood  Watch Commander at 213.485.4328 or 877.ASK.LAPD  
     

Make a report of ALL suspicious incidents  to Officer Irvin  Isabella (31823@lapd.lacity.org  or 213.793.0704), MOPOA (mopoa@mtolympus-la.com).  Please do this even if a police officer has taken an incident  report.