According to media reports, police are warning the public about burglars posing as gardeners and targeting Asian-American homes in Torrance, a city in Los Angeles County.
Burglaries have occurred in townhomes in gated communities in Torrance’s central and eastern areas in recent weeks, according to Mark Ponegalek of the Torrance Police Department, as quoted by City News Service, a regional wire service covering Southern California.
The city is about 32 kilometres southwest of downtown Los Angeles.
𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐁𝐮𝐫𝐠𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐀𝐝𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐲 In recent weeks, multiple residential burglary incidents sharing key elements have been reported to us.
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TPD is making available the following info to assist residents in becoming aware of suspicious individuals & activity pic.twitter.com/ophkpyYcR0— Torrance Police (@TorrancePD) December 2, 2021
Ponegalek described the victims as Asian-descent homeowners who own businesses outside of town, adding that they may have been followed home from work and kept large amounts of cash at home.
The Torrance Police Department issued a residential burglary advisory earlier this month, stating that the agency had received multiple reports of similar residential burglaries.
According to police, three to four suspects posing as gardeners or landscapers were involved in the incidents.
According to the department, the suspects were driving late-model American minivans and SUVs.
Police warned residents to be wary of vehicles that pull in right behind them inside security gates and to call 911 if they suspect criminal activity has occurred or is about to occur.
