On Sunday (21st April), a man was arrested for breaking into Getty House, the official residence of Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass. The accused entered Bass’s house in the Hancock Park area in Los Angeles after smashing a window at around 6:40 AM while the Mayor and her family were inside. Karen Bass has been at the forefront of campaign for reducing the prison population.
The accused has been identified as Ephraim Matthew Hunter. Taking to X on 22nd April, Los Angeles Police informed that the Mayor and her family members have not sustained any injuries. Meanwhile, the 29-year-old accused has been booked for burglary.
“Around 6:40 AM this morning, an individual smashed a window to gain entry into the Getty House while occupied. The Los Angeles Police Department responded and took a suspect into custody without incident. There were no injuries to the occupants during this incident. The investigation is ongoing, and no additional information is available at this time. The suspect was identified as Ephraim Matthew Hunter, a 29-year-old resident of Los Angeles. Hunter was booked for 459 PC-Burglary under booking number 6796415,” LAPD posted on X.
The suspect was identified as Ephraim Matthew Hunter, a 29-year-old resident of Los Angeles. Hunter was booked for 459 PC-Burglary under booking number 6796415.
— LAPD PIO (@LAPDPIO) April 22, 2024
This, however, is not the first time that Karen Bass’s house has been burglarized. Back in 2022, two burglars broke into Bass’ Baldwin Hills house. The suspects fled with two firearms before being apprehended several days later. This incident occurred during Bass’ mayoral campaign when she was still a member of the United States House of Representatives.
Notably, back in 2010, Karen Bass had initiated a program named “Non-Revocable Parole” for early release of prisoners. Reports say that it aimed to lower the prison population by releasing inmates early without parole supervision if their offence was nonviolent, they were not identified as gang members, or if they had no prior convictions for violent criminal offences.
In May 2010, Javier Rueda, 26, was released on non-revocable parole, then in early July 2010, he exited a vehicle with a loaded weapon in each hand and opened fire, injuring two Los Angeles police officers. Rueda was later shot and killed by the cops.
In 2011, Bass had supported the AB 109 Public Safety Act, another bill seeking early release of prisoners. This, much like the Non-Revocable Parole program had yielded adverse effects and several inmates released under this provision had indulged in serious crimes including murder.
In 2019, Karen Bass had called the mass incarceration of criminals an “embarrassment” when compared to other countries.
“It’s really an embarrassment in our country that we have more people locked up in the United States than any place in the world,” Bass said, adding that if lawmakers addressed the issue of inmates being unable to afford bail, the US could drastically reduce its prison population.
Notably, Los Angeles is considered as one of the most unsafe cities in the United States. Although there was a 3% decrease in violent crimes in LA last year, property crimes went up by 3.5%. Moreover, citywide thefts increased by 16%, which included 137 “flash robberies” that occurred within the City.
Robbery in LA is out of control
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 22, 2024
Stressing the deteriorating law and order, specially increase in robbery incidents in Los Angeles, X owner and Tesla CEO Elon Musk said, “Robbery in LA is out of control.”
