Patch Editor Foils the Great Orange Tree Theft of 2012

About noon today I went into my kitchen to grab a cup of coffee, looked out the window and saw two young men jumping the fence of my neighbor's backyard across the alley.

I immediately grabbed my cell phone and called 911. This was the second time I had called 911 on these guys, as it was the second time I had seen them jumping my neighbor's fence. I was extremely concerned they were burglarizing the house or worse. 

Within minutes an LAPD helicopter was overhead, about six squad cars swarmed the area and the suspects were in handcuffs on Magnolia Boulevard after having sped away from the scene.

Although I did not know what they were doing at the time, their alleged crime turned out to be... orange tree theft.

Let me explain:

As I mentioned, I had seen the same two guys jumping the fence a few weeks ago. When I saw them they were actually leaving the property empty handed, and to me it looked like they were casing the property to plan a burglary or robbery, or were in the middle of a burglary, got spooked and aborted the mission. Whatever they were up to, it was suspicious enough for me to phone 911, but they disappeared before the LAPD arrived.

I have never met the person or people that live in the house, but I stopped by twice to warn them that someone was casing their property. However, no one was ever home, so I left note. Today I saw the same two guys pull up in a white car in the alley, get out and jump the fence. I recognized them both immediately and called 911.

After a few minutes I saw the longhaired guy appear over the fence holding about a dozen oranges. He tried to hand them to his buddy, who dropped them. They both scampered around, picking them up comically. About the time I realized this was nothing more than a couple of knuckleheads stealing oranges, an LAPD helicopter appeared over my alley and I lost the cell connection with the 911 operator.

I heard the car speed away and saw the helicopter follow them. As it turns out, there were two cars and at least five or six individuals involved, but because my garage partially obstructs my view I never saw the second car.

They didn't get far. Within minutes the two guys I had seen jumping the fence and a third were in handcuffs in front of the Oakwood School on Magnolia Boulevard in Valley Village. I could also see a number of squad cars with their lights on down Magnolia on the other side of the Hollywood (170) Freeway in front of North Hollywood Park. As it turns out, that was the second car being pulled over.

I explained to the LAPD officers what I had seen and why I had called them. I also told them that it wasn't until after I had called 911 that I realized it was only oranges they were stealing. If I had known this all along I wouldn't have called 911, I just would have yelled at them and told them to leave. The officers thanked me for calling and said they understood why I did.

After some time and explaining I was told by the officers that no charges were going to be pressed because it wasn't a felony and also because my neighbor didn't want to press charges. But I do hope these bozos learned their lesson. Why in the world they were going to such elaborate lengths with two cars and jumping fences over a period of two weeks to steal a few oranges from my neighbor I do not know.

So, why have I chosen to tell this orange tree theft story here on my Patch site?

The reason is because it helps illustrate a number of important things about the LAPD. Crime is in Los Angeles and North Hollywood compared to a decade ago and the LAPD's rapid response to this incident helps illustrate a big reason why.

Anyone that reads our knows that when a "459 hot prowl" is called in -- which means a possible burglar is still at the scene -- a helicopter is sent to the location if it is available. In the end it was just a ridiculous and humorous theft of a few oranges, but neither the LAPD nor I knew that at the time. Had these guys been burglarizing the property or worse, they would have been caught during the getaway. But without the helicopter being implemented they likely would have gotten away and feasted on my neighbor's juicy oranges.

I get a lot of emails and questions about the LAPD helicopters. Most often, people want to know why one was hovering over their neighborhood, and sometimes I can tell them because I spend a lot of time listening to the police scanner. Some Patch readers tell me they feel the LAPD overuses the helicopters and that the constant buzzing overhead is disruptive to everyday life. It's an issue I hope to explore in-depth for a story down the road but in the meantime here are a few interesting facts:

The LAPD's Air Support Division (ASD) is the largest municipal airborne law enforcement operation in the world. According to the LAPD's website, a study commissioned by NASA and conducted by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s (JPL) Space Technology Applications Office concluded the following:

• The number of Part 1 Property Crimes is reduced when an LAPD helicopter is overhead.
• The number of arrests associated with radio calls is three times higher with the involvement of LAPD aircrews.
• The citizens of Los Angeles accept helicopter patrols as a necessary part of the City’s police system and strongly favor their continuation.
• Department ground based officers universally support a strong airborne law enforcement program within the department.