Four arrested as police smash 'flocking' burglary ring who targeted homes of A-list stars including Rihanna

Four people arrested as police crack down on burglary gang who targeted A-listers Rihanna's home was targeted and police say Matt Damon and LeBron James were on gang's hit-list Police seized £39,000 in cash and property worth millions LAPD says so-called 'flocking' gang is behind around two dozen burglaries
Rihanna was among stars whose homes were targeted by the gang
Evan Agostini/Invision/AP
Asher McShane3 October 2018

Four people have been arrested as part of a police probe in the US into a burglary gang who targeted the multi-million pound homes of A-list stars including Rihanna and Christina Milian.

The LAPD said the homes of several major US sports stars were also targeted by the burglary ring.

Officers displayed seized items believed to have been stolen - including expensive purses, handbags, watches and jewellery - in the hopes that the victims could identify them.

Police last weekend also seized £39,000 ($50,000) in cash.

The ring may have been responsible for about two dozen burglaries and taken property worth millions of dollars, said Lillian Carranza, commanding officer of the LAPD's Commercial Crimes Division.

Police displayed high-value items that were stolen in the raids on stars' homes
SplashNews.com

More arrests were expected, she said.

The victims were chosen based on social media postings and tour and travel schedules that indicated they would be away from home, Ms Carranza said.

The targets included Yasiel Puig, a baseball player with the Los Angeles Dodgers, and Robert Woods, who plays for NFL side the Los Angeles Rams.

The victims were chosen based on social media postings - it is though property worth millions was stolen
SplashNews.com

Woods, for example, had his Woodland Hills home hit on Thursday while he was playing against the Minnesota Vikings at the Los Angeles Coliseum.

Rihanna, Milian and Puig also had their homes burgled in recent months, Ms Carranza said.

In the home of one suspect, police seized a list containing a dozen other targets, including LeBron James and actors Viola Davis and Matt Damon
SplashNews.com

In the home of one suspect, police seized a list containing a dozen other targets, including LeBron James and actors Viola Davis and Matt Damon, along with their addresses, Ms Carranza said.

Arrests: Jshawne Daniels, 19 and 34-year-old Ashle Hall
SplashNews.com

The thieves, believed to be gang members and their associates, called their operation "flocking" because "they flocked like birds to areas where the rich and famous were sited," Mr Carranza said.

Tyress Williams, 19 and Damaji Hall, 18, were also among those arrested
SplashNews.com

The crooks would wear button-down shirts and drive luxury cars to fit in as they scouted the neighbourhood and then changed into casual clothing, including hoodies, before hitting homes, the officer said.

After knocking on the door to make sure nobody was home, the thieves would break in through a door or window and clean out the master bedroom, stealing cash, weapons, watches and other items in a matter of minutes - often before the alarm company could notify police, she explained.

Lillian Carranza details the LAPD's efforts to target the burglary gang members
SplashNews.com

On Friday, police stopped a car in South Los Angeles for a reason unrelated to the burglaries and found a handgun and stolen items in it.

Tyress Williams and Jshawne Daniels, both 19, and Damaji Hall, 18, were arrested, while Hall's mother, 34-year-old Ashle Hall, was arrested on Sunday, Ms Carranza said.

Williams pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to four felony counts of first-degree burglary involving Rihanna, Puig, Woods and singer Tota Matthieu, City News Service reported.

Matt Damon's property was on the gang's hit-list, police said 
Getty Images

The other three people arrested were not immediately charged pending further investigation.

They remained inn custody on Tuesday.

There has been a rash of celebrity home burglaries in Los Angeles and nearby areas in the past two years.

In 2017, singer Alanis Morissette had about 2 million dollars (£1.54m) in jewellery and valuables stolen from her Brentwood mansion.

The NBA's Nick Young lost about 500,000 in jewellery 384,000 and other items during a burglary at his Tarzana home.

Reporting by AP

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in

MORE ABOUT