Two Additional Police Raids Occur at Santa Fe Springs’ Villages at Heritage Springs

Whittier police at the Villages going after an alleged burglar.

By Brian Hews

For the third time in less than two weeks, police have once again been called to action in separate raids at the Villages at Heritage Springs in Santa Fe Springs.

In addition to the raid on two suspected Chinese marriage fraud ringleaders that occurred September 9 and reported exclusively by Hews Media Group-Community News, two additional separate police operations occurred yesterday at the once quite neighborhood located off of Telegraph Rd.

Thursday morning before 8 a.m., detectives of the Los Angeles Police Department served a search warrant at 12379 Azaleas Dr. and detained one suspect who was taken from the dwelling in handcuffs. Sources are telling HMG-CN that the man arrested was involved in a major catalytic convertor theft ring and was alleged to be the ringleader.

The man, according to sources, was able to post bail, after which he immediately went back to the house, broke down the door and moved all his belongings out of the house.

Later that same day,  Whittier Police received a 911 call that a “shirtless gang member” was seen scaling the Norwalk Blvd. gate at the Villages and was witnessed breaking into a ground floor window of a home across from the recently opened Miro luxury apartments.

Police arrived and surrounded the home at 10415 Snowbell Ct. where they found locked doors but an open window.

While waiting for a canine unit to arrive, the shirtless Hispanic male in his early 20’s wearing long shorts and knee-high white socks opened the garage and fled on a bicycle.

An undercover officer in an unmarked unit immediately apprehended the suspect at gunpoint.

A large-scale deployment of officers descended on the home to determine whether other suspects were in the home or possible victims remained inside.

A canine unit then entered the window and determined that no one else was in the home.

A short time later the homeowner arrived and informed the officer he recognized the suspected burglar as a local gang member but refused to press charges out of fear for the safety of his family.

The police reluctantly released the suspect, who brazenly flaunted his release in front of officers.

A nearby resident who requested to remain anonymous out of fear of gang retaliation commented that the recent increased police activity at the Villages was alarming and that more needs to be done to secure the property.

Another resident commented that she and her family were thinking about moving claiming that more needed to be done to protect residents and that a 24-hour security force was needed to serve a community as large as the Villages.