Police announce "significant" arrests as string of San Fernando Valley burglaries continue overnight

A troubling trend of crime plaguing the San Fernando Valley continued overnight, when several businesses were hit by burglars once again.

Investigators haven't disclosed if the most recent instances are connected, but two pharmacies, a shoe store, a computer shop and a smoke shop were all hit in a small four-hour window Tuesday morning, marking the latest moments in a weeks-long issue that has residents and small business owners fed up. 

The first reported incident came at a smoke shop in Arleta, where a group of attempted burglars used a car to smash through the front of the business and rush inside. They were met by the store's owner, however, who was prepared to fight back. 

In that instance, two people were arrested and two got away from police. 

Hours later, at around 3 a.m., David Far, the owner of Canoga Park computer store TEKDEP says that two people wearing dark clothing and driving a white van broke through the rear of his store and took off with computers, equipment and his gun. 

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Far says that he attempted to watch surveillance footage of the suspects when it suddenly cut out, leading to his belief that they used a WiFi blocker. 

Just 20 minutes afterwards, a nearby high-end shoe store was also hit by what police believe are the same two suspects as they were also driving a white van when they struck. 

The owners of Sneaker Hustle, located on Topanga Boulevard, say that they were alerted of the break in and immediately called police, who responded and were able to take one of the two into custody. 

They're far from the first sneaker shop to get hit, after Rich LA in South Los Angeles was hit for a combined $100,000 in stolen cash and shoes last Friday, while Equvalence in nearby Encino was also targeted by thieves recently. 

Between 3:15 and 4:15 a.m. two different pharmacies, one in Sun Valley and the other in Valley Village, were also broken into. In each instance investigators say that two suspects were involved but are unsure if anything was stolen.

On top of the several arrests made overnight, Interim Los Angeles Police Department Chief Dominic Choi on Tuesday announced that investigators had made two "significant" arrests in connection with the increased burglary in the area. 

"About a week and a half ago, there were two significant arrests that were made," he said during Board of Police Commissioners meeting. "The investigations will tell you that these two individuals are well known for burglaries."

While he didn't go into much detail, he said that they were both arrested on suspicion of burglary and robbery involving a firearm or other weapons and that investigators found various costumes, outfits and materials that they would use to conceal their identities. 

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"The criminal history of the person that we have in custody is significant, and there's prior burglaries and other violent offenses," Choi said. "We think this is also going to have a significant impact in the burglaries in the area."

He briefly addressed the sneaker store and computer shop burglaries as well. 

"You may have also heard that nearby there was also a computer store that was burglarized just before. We have reason to believe — i won't get into too much detail — that the same suspects were involved in that burglary as well," he added. 

On top of heightened law enforcement patrols being deployed to the impacted area, especially near Encino, Tarzana and Woodland Hills, city leaders have hosted an online public safety forum to address the topic. 

"We're going to continue our robust effort to reestablish the sense of safety for these communities that understandably are completely feeling unsafe in their homes and businesses. We can't tolerate that," Choi said.