Burglars Hit Four LCF Homes in Four Hours

Using what police described as "attractive young decoys,'' burglars ransacked three homes in La Cañada Flintridge Thursday, authorities said.

Between 10 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., unidentified suspects hit four homes on Hillard and Grand avenues and Indianola Way--residences within two miles of each other, said L.A. County Sheriff's Sgt. Ray Harley. And because the suspects actually walked into a fourth home, with the apparent intent to steal, that meets the definition of burgalry, thereby deputies tallying four for the day, he expained.

"There was one common denominator,'' Harley said, noting two young girls knocked on neighborhood doors saying they were looking for a female friend of theirs. Neighbors described the women as well-dressed and Hispanic, roughly 18 to 20 years old.

It appears the burglars, who made off with jewelry and small elctronics such as iPods and iPads from the various residences, used the women as decoys, while they entered houses with no one home.

At a fourth house, where the women knocked on the door, the owner was home, but not answering. However, after his dog kept barking, the owner walked to the front door to find that the women had opened it, and, startled, asked the resident if he'd seen their friend.

"It appears they were casing the houses,'' Harley said.

That neighbor did not call 911, but alerted authorities who were in the area for a burglary on Indianola Way, which deputies then presumed to be connected to the ones on Hillard and Grand avenues.

The first burglary was reported on Grand Avenue just after noon; the second report occurred 30 minutes later about a home on Hillard Avenue, with Indianola's burglary reported about 1:30 p.m.

Deputies are seeking the public's help in identifying the suspects. If you have any information about Thursday's burglaries, please call Crescenta Valley Sheriff's Station at 818-248-3464 and ask to speak to a detective.

And if strangers knock on your door asking if you've seen their friend, be vigilant. If you suspect anything nefarious, call 911, Harley said.

Editor's Note: A headline in an earlier version of this story should have listed the number of homes burglarized at four. Because the suspects walked into the fourth home with apparent intent, that, by definition, is a burglary.