Armed prowler terrorizing Shadow Hills neighborhood
LOS ANGELES - Authorities Tuesday were looking for an armed man seen in the Sunland area, who police say is a person of interest in a recent series of burglaries in a Shadow Hills neighborhood who's been putting residents in the area on edge.
SWAT units from the Los Angeles Police Department joined several patrol cars and at least one K-9 unit around 4:15 a.m. in the 103000 block of Sunland Boulevard, where police set up a command post and began to organize a search for the suspect, said LAPD Officer Lizeth Lomeli.
The active search continued for several hours until after daybreak, when it was suspended, police said.
The suspect is considered a "person of interest" in the investigation into at least eight residential and commercial burglaries in the nearby Shadow Hills neighborhood and the northeast San Fernando Valley, according to the LAPD.
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Tuesday morning, the man was seen near the Green Verdugo Reservoir close to the 210 Freeway on property owned by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power before he ran away and began hiding.
A DWP security guard reportedly saw the suspect on a camera carrying a rifle and notified police.
As a precaution during the search, the California Highway Patrol issued a SigAlert for the closure of the east and westbound Sunland Boulevard off-ramps from the 210 Freeway to limit traffic from entering the area.
Authorities believe the armed man may be the suspect responsible for numerous burglaries in the northeast San Fernando Valley.
In one security video, he's holding what appears to be a rifle casually walking through the yard of a Shadow Hills home. On October 24, a man with a similar description is seen wearing a backpack and reaching into the waistband of his pants. At one point, you can see what appears to be a handgun tucked into the right side. He eventually turns around, notices the camera and walks away.
Police believed that this armed man lives or is hiding in the hills around the area.
"It makes me very nervous to go up to my barn at night because it's there's hillside and then behind that is more wilderness. And so I mean, anybody could be up there at any point," neighbor Robin Phipps told FOX 11.
She doesn't feel that authorities are doing enough to help.
"It just doesn't seem like anybody really cares," she added.
WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT THE SUSPECT
His poster is all over the horseback riding trails in the area. Investigators believe the man may be homeless.
The man was described as Latino, about 6-feet tall and weighing about 160 pounds. He was also described as being between the ages of 30 and 40, with short dark hair and with a distinctive marijuana leaf tattoo on his right shoulder.
Homeless prowlers have been an issue in the area, which is near Hansen Dam. Neighbors have been complaining about problems with squatters for a while. But this man became the focus of a more intense search when police told the Neighborhood Watch Groups that he had stolen weapons, including an AR-15 with ammunition, from a home.
He has been seen with weapons, repeatedly. One resident tells FOX 11 they called police when the man fired one shot, luckily not hitting anyone, on Sunland Boulevard.
PUSH TO KEEP THE MAN OFF THE STREETS
Neighbors say they just want him off the streets.
"It's very important not just for our safety, but for his safety as well, because it seems like there might be something going on and he probably needs help, and I hope that he gets it before something happens," a neighbor told FOX 11.
Anyone with information was urged to call 818-834-3115 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).
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CNS contributed to this report.