Police announced the arrest Wednesday of a suspect accused of posing as an interested home buyer at open houses, then returning to steal items in a series of burglaries at celebrity and high-end homes in Los Angeles.
An estimated 2,000 items, including jewelry and artwork, worth millions of dollars were seized during the investigation involving homes in the Hollywood area. The burglaries occurred in 2017 and 2018.
Detectives received a break in the case when they noticed the same person signing in to multiple open houses where the burglaries occurred. The suspect was identified as Benjamin Eitan Ackerman, 32, of Los Angeles.
A search warrant was executed in September at the suspect’s home in connection with the case.
“They believed that he was a buyer,” said detective Jared Timmons. “When he showed up… he acted the part.”
The victims included Hollywood celebrity homes belonging to singers Usher, Jason Derulo, Adam Lambert and others, Timmons said.
Police posted images of the some of the stolen items here.
It was not immediately clear whether the suspect has an attorney.
Source: “Los Angeles” – Google News