Suspect in break-in at Los Angeles mayor's official residence charged with burglary, vandalism

LOS ANGELES -- A 29-year-old fishy successful a break-in astatine the location of Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass past play was charged Tuesday with burglary and vandalism, authorities said.

Ephraim Matthew Hunter, a Los Angeles resident, was charged with a felony number of first-degree residential burglary and a felony number of vandalism, Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón said. Hunter shattered a rear solid doorway aboriginal Sunday greeting to summation introduction to the Getty House, the mayor's authoritative residence adjacent downtown, and was chopped by solid and near humor stains passim the home, Gascón said.

The mayor, her daughter, son-in-law and grandchild were successful the location astatine the time.

“We are gladsome that determination were nary injuries, and the politician is OK,” Gascón said.

Hunter is being held connected $100,000 bail.

Bass told reporters Monday, “I americium fine. My household is fine.”

The Los Angeles County Public Defender’s Office, which is representing Hunter, said successful a connection that “our bureau volition guarantee that Mr. Hunter receives a just and robust defence and a afloat probe into the circumstances which led to the accusations against him.”

Bass’ bureau and the Los Angeles Police Department did not respond to questions astir information protocols astatine the residence.

Interim Police Chief Dominic Choi told reporters Tuesday that Hunter, who reached the 2nd level of the home, broke successful during a clip erstwhile determination were nary information officers connected the property. Hunter arrived astatine the location successful a little spread during a displacement change, which has been remedied to make an overlap of shifts, Choi said.

The Los Angeles Times, citing nationalist records, said Hunter was convicted of battle with a deadly limb pursuing a 2015 onslaught connected a antheral successful Massachusetts and served 7 years successful authorities prison.

The paper said Josephine Duah, who identified herself arsenic Hunter’s mother, said she spoke with her lad Monday from jail, and helium told her helium allegedly entered the spot due to the fact that helium believed helium was being pursued by idiosyncratic who wanted to harm him and did not cognize who owned the residence. She said her lad planned to participate a cause attraction session connected Monday but ne'er made it.

Bass served arsenic a Democratic subordinate of Congress from 2011 until her election arsenic the city’s 43rd politician successful 2022. The erstwhile authorities Assembly person is the archetypal pistillate and 2nd Black idiosyncratic to clasp the post, aft erstwhile Mayor Tom Bradley, who held the presumption from 1973 to 1993.

The apprehension recalled the October 2022 break-in astatine erstwhile U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s San Francisco home, successful which her husband, Paul Pelosi, was attacked with a hammer. A assemblage past twelvemonth recovered David DePape blameworthy of attempted kidnapping of a national authoritative and battle connected the contiguous household subordinate of a national official.

The onslaught raised questions astir the information provided for members of Congress and their families. The U.S. Capitol Police had a camera astatine the residence. But it was not being monitored astatine the clip of the onslaught due to the fact that Nancy Pelosi was not home.