Crime wave knows no boundaries in Los Angeles
Armed security patrols stepped up as terrified residents fear for their safety in Beverly Hills after music mogul’s wife is shot dead, reports
Since the opulent residences were first carved into the mountains of Beverly Hills in the 1950s, the gated Trousdale Estates community has promised “A Life Above It All”.
And it has largely stayed true to its pledge. Current homes on the market range from £6million to £26million, while the streets are patrolled by private armed security teams which protect residents from a crime wave in Los Angeles below.
That was until the early hours of Dec 1, when Jacqueline Avant, an 81-yearold philanthropist who was a friend to musicians, movie stars and former presidents, was shot dead by a burglar in her home.
“Now we see that crime knows no neighbourhood, it knows no boundary,” Tavis Smiley, her friend of 30 years, told The Daily Telegraph.
While violent crime is spiking, the City of Angels is also in the grip of a homelessness epidemic, while petty town hall corruption has become rife.
Many blame the pandemic and rising poverty.
Others point to a new class of liberal justices who are soft on crime, and a “defund the police” culture inspired by Black Lives Matters largely welcomed by the Hollywood set.
Last month smash-and-grab robbers attempted to break into Louis Vuitton on Rodeo Drive and Saks Fifth Avenue on Wilshire Boulevard.
And last Sunday dozens of residents confronted Mark Stainbrook, the new Beverly Hills police chief, at a town hall meeting to address the rise in violent crime.
They shared stories of their homes being burgled and their cars being broken into on their driveways.
Many of the fearful residents believe criminals are emboldened because they are going unpunished.
They partly blame the Californian law Proposition 47 for the rise in crime. The legislation, which was passed in 2014 to ease prison overcrowding, allows the theft of items up to $950 (£715) to count as a misdemeanour, along with the possession of hard drugs for personal use.
There has also been a further effort to reduce the prison population during the pandemic under which many suspects have been released back onto the streets straight after being arrested under a “zero bail” policy.
Mrs Avant’s suspected killer, Aariel Maynor, 29, has previous convictions for assault and robbery and was on parole at the time of the shooting.
He was arrested a few hours later after shooting himself in the foot at the scene of another burglary, seven miles away, in the Hollywood Hills.
The victim was the wife of Clarence Avant, 90, a music executive who became chairman of Motown Records.
Mrs Avant had been a valued member of the community for 55 years and had become known for her charity work, such as organising fundraisers with US presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton or volunteering in deprived areas of LA.
The basketball player Earvin “Magic” Johnson, and TV star Oprah Winfrey were among those to publicly pay their respects.
Mr Smiley, Mrs Avant’s friend and neighbour, said: “No place is safe. One of my neighbours was robbed at gunpoint the other day as she pushed her baby in a stroller.
“We think we are the greatest country in the world, but at some point, when people are hopeless, and desperate, and poor, you end up at anarchy.”
Homeless encampments have taken over many of the city’s parks and open spaces during the coronavirus pandemic, with officials split on the best way to deal with it.
“Rome is burning,” former LA mayor Anthonio Villaraigosa said in a recent TV interview. “I have lived here my entire life. I have never seen this town so dirty, I’ve never seen crime go up so quickly and the spread of homelessness all throughout the city.
“I think there is a lack of urgency and clear leadership in this town right now.”
Bryce Eddy is vice president at the private security firm Covered 6, one of two companies that have been hired by officials in Beverly Hills to help police keep their streets safe.
His firm has deployed up to 40 guards per shift to perform highsynonymous visibility, armed patrols in the area. The need for our firm is increasing, and that’s not a good thing,” Mr Eddy, 47, said.
Across Los Angeles there have been 361 murders so far this year – up from 349 in 2020 – the worst figure since 2008.
The situation is shaping next year’s mayoral race, but there is unrest in the corridors of power, too.
Federal prosecutors have charged a former deputy mayor in a bribery scandal, and a former member of the mayor’s security team has sued the city, accusing a former aide of sexual harassment.
Kerman Maddox, 60, a political communications expert who was among the first 50 members of President Obama’s campaign team, believes the situation is worse than the 1990s, when the city became with violent crime. He, too, is frustrated by Proposition 47, no-cash bail and police officers “looking the other way because they don’t want to be accused of misconduct”.
“I was living in South Central Los Angeles in the 1990s,” he said. “Back then it was mostly crime over the drug trade, and gangs fighting each other over turf. I never felt threatened because I wasn’t part of that criminal world. Today my head’s always on the swivel, as they say in my neighbourhood. What’s different now is that most of the victims are completely innocent people.
“It’s people who are attacked on the way home from watching a movie, it’s minority-owned small businesses who are the victims of smash and grabs. “And it’s happening in every corner of the city.”
‘I have lived here my entire life. I have never seen this town so dirty and crime go up so quickly’
‘Today my head’s always on the swivel – what’s different now is that most victims are completely innocent’