Police caution residents in shopping areas to be on the lookout for potential "follow-home" robbers.
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LAPD investigators suspect that at least six L.A. area gangs are playing a role in a series of follow-home robberies. At least 110 incidents have been reported this year.
LAPD Lieutenant Ben Fernandes says that victims are followed home late at night from shopping areas such as Melrose or the Jewelry District, "places like that where people are showing off high dollar things ... jewelry, purses, money, they're driving high-end cars."
In early 2021, LAPD’s Robbery-Homicide Division began seeing a trend where victims were followed either to their homes or business then robbed.
Detectives liken these crimes to a spate of “knock-knock” burglaries that occurred throughout the city a few years ago. In those instances, police also identified “different crews/gangs” as the perpetrators.
Fernandes tells KPCC/LAist that these kinds of attacks are taking place all over Southern California and some are even turning violent. He says if you're being followed, drive to a police station and dial 9-1-1.
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