Police today sought possible additional victims of four people arrested on suspicion of burglarizing a Bel Air Estates home, where two of the suspects were hired as painters.
Officers responded about 7:30 p.m. on July 2 to a report of possible trespassers at a house in the 1100 block of Maybrook Drive, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
“Officers discovered two men and two women drinking alcohol and swimming in the pool,” according to an LAPD statement. “The residence was under construction on the first floor. The two men were hired as painters, but no one should have been at the location at that time of night.”
A check of the home revealed that its second floor had been ransacked and it appeared property had been taken, police said.
“A search of the suspects’ vehicles was completed,” police said. “Stolen property was found inside of the vehicles, and was later identified as belonging to the homeowner.”
The arrested suspects were identified as 35-year-old Mario Martinez, 27- year-old Elmer Rodriguez, 46-year-old Teresa Ascencio and 18-year-old Lesly Zapata.
According to sheriff’s online inmate records, Martinez was being held in lieu of $180,000 bail at the Twin Towers Correctional Facility in downtown Los Angeles and was due to appear today in court in West Covina. It was unclear if he appeared.
Rodriguez was being held in lieu of $50,000 bail at the North County Correctional Facility in Castaic and was next due to appear at the Airport Courthouse on July 28, according to the sheriff’s department.
Ascencio and Zapata, who were each being held in lieu of $50,000 bail at the Century Regional Detention Facility in Lynwood, also were next scheduled to appear at the Airport Courthouse on July 28, according to the sheriff’s department.
Anyone in the West Los Angeles area who was the victim of a burglary while their residence was under construction, may have hired any of the suspects or has seen them near a construction site was urged to contact detectives at the LAPD’s West Los Angeles Station at (310) 444-1522. Anonymous tips can be provided by calling Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-TIPS.
