Traffic Stop Cracks Encino Burglary Case, Say Place

A traffic stop today led to the arrest of four young men and a 17-year-old boy suspected of burglarizing a Verizon store in Encino, police said.

Officers Amy Vest and Zoraya Guillermo saw the driver of a red Kia run a red light about 4:30 a.m. on Ventura Boulevard, not far from the store at 19646 Ventura, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

The West Valley Station officers lost sight of the vehicle but spotted it again 30 minutes later being driven with its headlights off. The driver initially tried to evade the officers but eventually pulled over, at which time the officers smelled marijuana, according to the LAPD.

A burglar alarm broadcast made the officers think the suspects in the Kia were possibly involved and a search of the car turned up burglary tools, according to police.

Meanwhile, other officers viewed surveillance video from the Verizon store that showed three men inside the business putting items into bags.

“The suspects resembled the three men in the Kia, in stature and dress,” according to an LAPD statement.

Other officers found a discarded bag on the sidewalk in the area where the Kia was first spotted. It contained stolen Bluetooth (wireless) speakers, police said.

“It looks like the suspects got scared when they first saw us, and tossed their loot,” Guillermo said. “Serial numbers will tie the stolen items to the store, and the video puts the men inside.”

Arrested were Thomas Rollings II, 20, and Dwaun Jennings, 18, both of Compton; Alexis Stewart, 19, of South Los Angeles; and the 17-year-old, an Inglewood resident whose name was not released because of his age.

The Kia, which belongs to Stewart’s grandfather, was impounded, police said.

Jennings is already on probation, although it was unclear why, and he and Rollins have criminal histories, according to the LAPD.

The minor was cited and released to his mother, while bail for the other three suspects was set at $20,000 apiece.

“Now the real work starts with tying other burglaries to this crew,” Vest said. “Clearly, a lot of thought and effort went into this crew’s burglary plan. This crew is only one of several unconnected rings that have zeroed in on the West San Fernando Valley as an easy target, but I hope that these arrests will disabuse any other crews of that.”

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