Police Arrest Alleged Serial Burglar, Ask For Public's Help

SANTA MONICA, CA — Torrance police are asking the public's help for more information Thursday following an arrest of a man that detectives say was responsible for thefts in several Southern California cities, as well as heists in Minnesota.

Police said an investigation led them to arrest 48-year-old Brian Williams Tuesday. Police suspect Williams is involved in more than 30 commercial burglaries in Los Angeles County from 2019, as well as more than 100 in Minnesota.

He is allegedly connected to crimes in El Segundo, Culver City, Carson, Huntington Beach, Los Angeles, Santa Monica, and West Hollywood, according to a criminal complaint.

He targeted large office buildings in pursuit of cash, police said.

Williams was allegedly known to operate under a series of aliases, according to police.

Detectives believe he worked with an accomplice in some of the cases, and they're asking for public help in pursuing more information.

"We’ve been working with most of those agencies that are listed.& We believe that there’s potentially more, Torrance Police Sgt. Alexander Martinez told Patch. "That’s why we want to get that story out."

"A lot of times we have businesses that believe they were broken into but didn’t make a report," Martinez told Patch. "Businesses might have their own video and we’re hoping they might call."

It might not be obvious if something goes missing, he told Patch.

"They might have noticed the pry marks into the doors, but a lot of times they don’t see things missing, especially office buildings," Martinez said. "Cash, checks, might go missing. They might repair, or not even contact police."

Small items that go missing are what police want to know about.

"Most people think they’re breaking into our office, they’re stealing computers, they’re stealing the big valuable things, but in this case, Mr. Williams what he would do is target all the small things, especially cash, "Martinez told Patch. "It’s easy for him to conceal the cash in his pockets or on his person."

In 2019 in Minnesota, Williams was accused of more than 100 attempted and suspected burglaries.

Anyone with information regarding the case is encouraged to contact Torrance Police Captain Mark Underwood of the Special Operations Bureau and the Torrance Police Department at (310) 328-3456. The case number is DR# 200009574.

City News Service and Patch Staffer Nicole Charky contributed to this report.

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