Four teenagers have been arrested over a burglary that left actor Brad Pitt’s home ransacked, Los Angeles police said.
The suspects are allegedly linked to a series of “celebrity burglaries” targeting actors and professional athletes, Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell said.
The male suspects, aged 18, 18, 17 and 16, are members of a street gang. Property stolen in the burglaries was recovered when police searched their homes.
Police did not disclose all the victims, but celebrities such as Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban, LA Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and former LA Football Club striker Olivier Giroud have reported break-ins this year.
The investigation began in late June after Pitt’s Los Feliz home was raided by a trio of masked thieves. McDonnell said the group climbed a perimeter fence, shattered a window, entered the house, took items, and fled. Police did not explicitly confirm the property belonged to Pitt, but the address matched a house he purchased in 2023.
The three-bedroom home is located just outside Griffith Park near the Hollywood Sign, and is shielded from public view by fencing and greenery. Pitt was not at home during the burglary, as he was promoting his new film, F1.
McDonnell said the suspects were part of a crew “burglarizing various high-profile residents throughout the city,” including “actors and professional athletes.” Authorities tracked and arrested the four teenagers on burglary charges last week.
Police did not provide details on the items recovered during searches of the suspects’ homes.
McDonnell explained that burglars like this group had become increasingly sophisticated, sometimes placing surveillance cameras in flowerbeds or across the street to monitor victims’ routines. He added that thieves had also used wi-fi jammers to disable home surveillance systems that could alert homeowners or police.
He noted that celebrities and athletes can be easier targets because their appearances and games are widely publicised online, and warned that anyone posting about their travels on social media could inadvertently reveal their location.
“We don’t really give enough thought to… [while] we want our friends to know where we are and what we’re doing, you’re telling everybody else then who may be looking to exploit your situation,” McDonnell said.
Faridah Abdulkadiri
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