What to Know
- An intruder broke into the home of Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass Sunday morning.
- LAPD identified the intruder as 29-year-old Ephrain Matthew Hunter of Los Angeles.
- The suspect previously was sentenced to prison in a 2015 Massachusetts assault case.
The burglar who broke a glass door to enter Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass’ official residence, and roam the house before being arrested, slipped inside the house when there were no security officers on the premises, the LAPD’s chief said Tuesday.
“This happened so quickly that even if somebody had been there, he probably still would have been able to access inside the residence,” Chief Dominic Choi said of the speed of the burglar’s entry.
Choi explained that the break-in, which happened Sunday around 6:45 a.m., took place after an overnight shift for a security guard, but before the mayor’s protective detail of LAPD officers arrived for the day.
“Let’s define the gap as when somebody is not physically on the property,” Choi said. “There was a gap that morning, and that issue has been remedied.”
Bass was in the residence at the time of the burglary, according to her office.
“Mayor Bass and her family were not injured and are safe,” Zach Seidl, Deputy Mayor of Communications, said in a statement . “The Mayor is grateful to LAPD for responding and arresting the suspect.”
LAPD said officers immediately responded to the house’s alarm and as first responders opened the door, they encountered a man inside.
Police identified the intruder as 29-year-old Ephraim Matthew Hunter of Los Angeles. He was booked on suspicion of burglary and is being held on $100,000 bail. It is unclear if Hunter has an attorney who can speak on his behalf.
Norfolk County, Massachusetts prosecutors confirmed that the man under arrest was previously sentenced to 5 to 7 years in prison in Massachusetts in an assault case. Hunter pleaded not guilty to, but was later convicted of, attempted murder, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, kidnapping, possession of a class A drug (heroin) and armed robbery in the March 2015 crime.
Weapons used in the assault in an apartment parking lot included a hammer and snow brush, according to prosecutors.
Choi said Tuesday it was not clear why Bass’s home was burglarized, and said he didn’t have information that suggested either the Mayor or the home, called Getty House, was specifically targeted.