The burglar who “targeted” Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass’s home in an early weekend morning burglary is a career criminal who had previously been convicted of a brutal assault in the Massachusetts.
On April 21, Mayor Bass, her daughter, son-in-law and grandchild were sleeping inside the mayor’s official residence when a rear glass door was broken by Ephraim Matthew Hunter around 6:40 a.m.
Hunter, 29, was left bloodied after allegedly smashing the back door, causing between $5,000 and $10,000 in damage, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office said Tuesday.
Police responded to the scene and arrested Hunter minutes after the glass broke.
“I am deeply relieved that Mayor Karen Bass and her family were unharmed by this recent burglary. The safety and security of all residents, including public officials, remains paramount in our community,” Prosecutor George Gascón said in the press release.
“While we are grateful for their physical safety, this violent intrusion will not be tolerated. We are fully committed to ensuring that the perpetrator is quickly brought to justice and held accountable for his actions.
Gascón said Hunter’s actions showed he knew Bass was inside Getty House, the official residence of the mayor of Los Angeles, at the time of the burglary.
“We think he was targeting the mayor,” Gascón said, according to KABC.
Hunter took advantage of a gap in the security team to sneak onto the property.
Hunter “jumped over the fence quickly and was able to break in through the back of the house. And from what I understand, it happened so quickly that even if someone had been there, they probably still would have been able to gain access inside the residence. said Acting LAPD Chief Dominic Choi, according to KTTV.
No further details about Hunter’s motives, or whether he had intended to harm Bass, were provided.
Getty House is located on South Irving Boulevard in Windsor Square, nearly five miles west of Los Angeles City Hall.
Hunter was previously arrested in 2015 after four men beat another with a hammer during a violent early-morning attack in Millis, Massachusetts, 19 miles from Boston, according to CBS Boston.
He was sentenced to 5 to 7 years in prison and has since moved to Los Angeles, where he currently lives.
Hunter’s family objected to the prosecutor’s opinion, saying he suffered from mental problems and believed he was in danger and sought refuge.
“My son is losing his mind,” Hunter’s mother, Josephine Duah, told the Daily Mail. “He thought people were chasing him and he randomly ran into this house. He wasn’t trying to break into the mayor’s house.
“Thank God this wasn’t someone who would have pulled out a gun and shot him because he was just trying to run away from someone who he thought was trying to grab him.
“He didn’t know where he was or what he was doing. The truth is that he needs mental help,” the mother added.
Hunter was charged with first-degree residential burglary in the presence of a person and vandalism valued at $400 or more in damage or destruction of property, both felonies.
He is being held on $100,000 bail.
If convicted, Hunter faces a maximum of 13 years and 4 months in prison.
He is due back in court May 6 for a scheduled preliminary hearing.
Sunday’s burglary is the second time in the last two years that Bass has been the victim of a home invasion.
During his 2022 campaign, two men stole a pair of handguns from his Baldwin Vista home, bypassing cash and electronics and stealing the weapons, according to the LA Times.
The two thieves, Patricio Munoz and Juan Espinoza, pleaded no contest to burglary and grand theft charges and were sentenced to two years and 32 months in prison, respectively.
Crime in Los Angeles continues to rise as Gascón’s lenient approach to court cases becomes a growing burden on the California city.
The DA has barred prosecutors from imposing harsh punishments on gang members and has issued a series of criminal justice directives since taking office in 2020 that have drawn scorn from opponents and many in law enforcement .
New York Post
