Authorities are investigating two Sunday night burglaries in Boyle Heights and East Los Angeles that happened during reported street takeovers. It’s unclear if the incidents are related.
The first incident was reported shortly after at 11 p.m. at Lorena Pharmacy at the 3400 block of Whittier Boulevard, according to Los Angeles Police Department Officer Jeff Lee.
Lee described the site as the “scene of a street takeover” where several people entered the pharmacy and stole merchandise, he said.
It’s unclear what kind of property was taken or how many people were involved. KTLA reported that about 100 people “gathered in the area for a street takeover, and as many as 10 people eventually entered the store.”
Lee said detectives will scout the area for possible witnesses and will look through cellphone video and surveillance footage as part of their investigation.
Minutes after the pharmacy burglary, three people are believed to have stolen two cash registers from a Jack in the Box in the area of South Downey Road and East Olympic Boulevard in East LA, according to KTLA, which described the incident as a street takeover.
The burglaries come as law enforcement agencies across Los Angeles County investigate a wave of break-ins that have occurred during street takeovers.
Detectives with the East LA Sheriff’s Station are seeking to identify several people believed to be involved in a pair of “mob-like” burglaries of the Auto Zone in East LA earlier this month.
The burglaries occurred at the store in the 1130 block of South Atlantic Boulevard on Aug. 8 and Aug. 9, the Sheriff’s Department said in a bulletin. Investigators believe the people involved in the Aug. 9 incident “may have also participated in the previous day’s burglary at the same location which occurred during a street takeover,” according to the bulletin.
The East LA Sheriff’s Station released a series of photos captured by footage recovered from the business.
In a separate incident on Aug. 15, a Bellflower business was burglarized just before 3:30 a.m. during a street takeover where about 100-150 vehicles were stopped in the roadway and blocked access to the business, according to another Sheriff’s Department bulletin.
Authorities have not said whether Sunday’s burglaries are connected to those cases.
