Cierra Marie Bartholomew and Adrian D. Givens arrested by UCLA police
By Sam Catanzaro
Police have arrested two individuals accused of stealing mail and packages from Westwood apartments.
According to the UCLA Police Department (UCLA PD), on Tuesday, September 1 at 5:53 a.m. Cierra Marie Bartholomew, a 28-year-old resident of Los Angeles, and Adrian D. Givens, a 46-year-old resident of Los Angeles, were taken into custody by UCLA Police Department patrol officers on charges of burglary, possession of stolen property, possession of burglary tools and being felons in possession of firearms and ammunition.
According to the Department, officers have responded to multiple burglaries recently reported in the North Westwood residential area, including incidents at UCLA off-campus apartments that involved student and staff victims. In response, officers collaborated with community members, including members of the UCLA campus community, and viewed surveillance footage of the burglary suspects. Officers also increased patrols in the area.
In the early morning of September 1, 2020, UCLA PD officers observed a subject, matching the description of a burglary suspect seen on the surveillance footage, walking in the 500 block of Kelton Avenue, according to the Department. A related subject with a vehicle was also observed in the same area and both subjects were contacted.
“During the investigation, officers recovered packages and hundreds of pieces of suspected stolen mail; much of it from apartment buildings in the Westwood area. Officers also found burglary tools, debit cards, victims’ personal information, as well as two handguns which were reported stolen on August 31, 2020 from LAPD’s Wilshire Division,” UCLA PD said in a press release.
In addition, officers found almost a hundred rounds of ammunition and handgun magazines for the stolen guns.
“At least one of the items recovered allowed the suspects unauthorized access to a nearby apartment building. Much of the recovered property is believed to be related to recent thefts or burglaries,” the Department said.
The investigation is on-going and UCLA PD Detectives say they are working to contact possible victims in an effort to return the stolen property.
Both arrestees, who are not affiliated with UCLA, have a court date of December 2, 2020, at the LAX Airport Courthouse, according to the press release.
