Nine people have been charged in connection with looting in the Palisades and Eaton fires, L.A. County District Attorney Nathan Hochman announced Monday.
Speaking at an afternoon news conference, Hochman called the incidents “appalling” and “a direct attack on our community during a time of unprecedented loss and vulnerability.”
He did not indicate that looting or other criminal activity related to the fires was widespread, but warned that anyone caught engaging in such activity would face charges.
“Let me be clear, If you exploit this tragedy to prey on victims of these deadly fires, we will find you and we will prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law,” he said.
The charges
Two people are charged with first degree burglary and looting of a property in the Mandeville Canyon area near The Getty Center late Jan. 8 or early Jan. 9, according to the district attorney. They’re accused of stealing property exceeding $200,000.
A third person is accused of evading police while they were investigating the burglary. That person has since been charged with one count of felony hit-and-run, Hochman said.
Two other people are accused of entering two houses in Altadena on Jan. 8, Hochman said, and four people are charged with burglarizing a different house in Altadena that same day.
The latter group is accused of stealing an Emmy award statue that belonged to a person who lived there.
As of Monday afternoon, most of the people facing those charges had been arraigned in Superior Court.
Hochman also announced that one person has been charged with felony arson for allegedly trying to light a large downed tree on fire at Pioneer Park in Azusa….
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