After arrests during wildfires, Los Angeles County DA Hochman looks to make looting a felony
After dozens of people were arrested in Los Angeles County wildfire zones, District Attorney Nathan Hochman has called for making looting during a local emergency a felony crime punishable by prison rather than county jail.
In a statement Tuesday, Hochman said he and Orange County DA Todd Spitzer are urging Gov. Gavin Newsom to amend his prior proclamation for a special legislative session so they can work to enact looting-related legislation. On Monday, Newsom announced the special session was being amended to address the state's response to LA wildfires.
Some of the changes Hochman and Spitzer are calling for include sending those convicted of looting to state prison, requiring people suspected of looting to appear before a judge rather than being cited and released and making the crime of looting not eligible for diversion — an option usually available for nonviolent offenses which allows the crime to be later erased from a record.
The legislation being proposed by the two Southern California prosecutors also calls for creating a new looting-related offense of trespass with intent to commit larceny. This newly designated crime would "allow prosecutors to punish thieves who are sifting through the ashes of burned homes searching for valuables, which is not a crime under current California law," the statement reads.
The Palisades Fire broke out the morning of Tuesday, Jan. 7 and the Eaton Fire sparked several hours later that day, leaving at least 25 people dead and burning through more than 37,000 acres in the week since.
Over the last week, as of Tuesday morning, 39 people have been arrested in or near wildfire zones by the LA County Sheriff's Department and another 14 have been arrested by the Los Angeles Police Department.
Not all of those arrests are linked to alleged cases of looting. In fact, LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell said at least three of the individuals were arrested on suspicion of arson.
However, there have been wildfire survivors and evacuees who have described seeing people go through areas where homes once stood and stealing from the destruction sites. "It's just, like, sick. It's twisted to me," Chris Clinton, a Pacific Palisades resident, said last week of suspected looters in his neighborhood. "It's heartbreaking... just let us get through this."
The looting-related legislation being proposed by Hochman and Spitzer was submitted to the Legislative Council Monday. The specific changes being called for are detailed in the statement issued Tuesday by the LA County DA's office.
"There is a special place in jail for those who exploit the vulnerable in the wake of deadly fires," Hochman said in the statement from his office. "As hundreds of thousands of families face the unimaginable anguish of fleeing their homes, uncertain whether they'll ever return, the last thing they should fear is the added trauma of criminals preying on their misfortune."
"Opportunistic burglars and looters who target fire victims in their time of crisis are not only breaking the law — they are further deepening the suffering of those already facing unimaginable loss," he said, adding that those convicted of looting crimes "deserve the harshest penalties" and "current laws simply do not go far enough to ensure they are held fully accountable."