Suspects arrested for Koreatown burglary spree
By Edwin Folven, 7/12/2012
Police are asking for additional victims to come forward
Two suspects were arrested on July 9 after they set off a burglar alarm while breaking into a business near Oxford Avenue and 3rd Street. Police believe the suspects are responsible for a string of burglaries that occurred during the last two weeks in the Koreatown and Wilshire areas.
Some businesses near 3rd Street and Oxford Avenue were allegedly burglarized by two suspects who were arrested on July 9. (photo by Edwin Folven)
The suspects, Byung Ho Son, 25, and Jung Hwan Park, 18, have been charged with multiple counts of burglary and have been linked to at least four break-ins that occurred since the last week in June, according to Det. Adrian Chin, with the Los Angeles Police Department’s Olympic Division. The pair had allegedly burglarized businesses between midnight and 7 a.m. in the neighborhoods around Oxford Avenue and 3rd Street, and 7th Street and Hobart Avenue. Chin said the suspects were linked to the four burglaries based on their method of operation, which was to smash a window and steal money from cash registers. The detective said the arrests were made around 5:30 a.m. on July 9 after officers located the two suspects in a car near the site of a burglary on 3rd Street.
“They targeted businesses that were closed for the night, when nobody was around,” Chin said. “Right now we are looking at four burglaries, pending further investigation, but there may be others.”
Chin said Son and Park were friends who lived in Koreatown. He said it is likely the pair may have targeted other businesses, or even residences, and asked anyone who may have been a victim to come forward. During May and June, there was a series of home burglaries in the Hancock Park and Windsor Square neighborhoods, and Chin said any residents who may have seen two Korean American men loitering or acting suspiciously in their neighborhood should notify investigators. Son and Park were in a dark-colored, late-model Toyota sedan when they were arrested.
The detective added that he has been working with burglary investigators from the neighboring Wilshire Division, but has not yet linked any crimes in the Wilshire area to Son and Park.
“It is possible there were some in Wilshire, but we don’t know,” Chin added. “It’s something we are looking into, and we are hoping someone will come forward with some new information.”
Anyone who has information about the burglaries is asked to contact Det. Chin at (213)382-9440. During weekends and off-hours, call the LAPD’s 24-hour hotline at (877)LAPD247.
Tags | burglaries in koireatown 3rd Street and Oxford Avenue
