LOS ANGELES—Three men and a woman have been arrested for a series of residential burglaries in the Southland where they posed as construction workers by wearing reflector vests, police said on July 9.
The suspects targeted over 30 homes in wealthy enclaves, which included Los Angeles, Studio City, West Los Angeles, and West Hollywood, where they took high-end purses, jewelry, watches, and cash, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
The suspects would often organize one person wearing a reflector vest to knock on doors in residential neighborhoods to check if any residents were at home without raising suspicion, police said.
“If the residence appeared unoccupied, other suspects would emerge and enter through the rear,” police said in a statement.
North Hollywood Division burglary detectives, with the assistance of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Major Crimes Bureau and Burglary-Robbery Taskforce, worked collaboratively to arrest the suspects on June 27 and July 3, police said.
Detectives identified the suspects as 39-year-old Roderick Dennis of Los Angeles, 21-year-old Michael Mitchell of Ontario and 21-year-old Munya Jones, also of Los Angeles. They were arrested on June 27 during an “in-progress burglary” in Studio City, authorities said.
“The defendants used multiple rented vehicles and sophisticated techniques to prevent detectives from uncovering their identities,” police said.
All three suspects were booked on suspicion of residential burglary. Police also arrested on July 3 Mr. Dennis’s girlfriend, 33-year-old Ashley Ellison, who was allegedly renting vehicles for the suspects.
Police said Ms. Ellison was in possession of stolen items at her residence for Mr. Dennis.
Detectives seized thousands of dollars in cash, two stolen firearms, jewelry appraisals, and additional evidence linking Mr. Dennis and the other suspects to the burglaries, according to police.
Ms. Ellison was arrested and booked on suspicion of receiving stolen property. Detectives believe there are additional suspects and other crimes possibly committed by the “reflector vest crew” and are working actively to identify those individuals.
