February LLA Watch draws 21 people
Lake Los Angeles – On Tuesday evening February 18, 2025, at M&G’s 21 LLA folks gathered to support WATCH and get updates from Lake Los Angeles Resident Deputy Gilberto Borruel.
Bourell mentioned he was going on 4 years serving as the Resident Deputy of the community. He said, “It’s good to see some new faces tonight. That is how we will grow the Watch. You are Captains of your own neighborhoods, and I need you to help me out.”
He discussed how well the first LLA Christmas Parade went and mentioned 4th of July to which he got a quick response “Yes, there will be a 4th of July parade and celebration!”
Graffiti was thoroughly discussed. Graffiti is not innocent spray painting and needs to be reported immediately and wiped out as fast. “When I see it, I call and get the crew out here to get rid of it as fast as possible. Report graffiti either to me or to the hotline.” To request graffiti removal, here is the email address: gars@ladpw.org. Wherever there is graffiti, there is crime and the people who commit those crimes.
The marijuana grows are being worked on and in pretty good control The house grows are increasing, however, especially in the LA basin.
What has been spiking is thefts of tractors and trailers as well as recreational vehicles. LASD TRAP (Taskforce for Regional Auto theft Prevention) deputies are joining in on the investigations and preventions of these thefts. RV Theft Statistics show 30,000+ stolen annually, $40k average cost, California leads, and only 25% recovered. Borruel warned, “My advice to you, if you own an RV, get yourself an “air tag’ device, stick it in the RV somewhere out of sight like in a sock in a drawer, so your vehicle can be tracked and help stop this crime. There are several air tag devices online. We want to get to your RV before the paint color changes making it easier to miss. For those who have punch starts, get a Faraday bag, put your key fob in it and prevent that theft. There are many choices available.”
He also stated, “Crimes are being prosecuted. I have seen it when I transported an inmate down to men’s central. Some who committed crimes during the Gascon era are getting serious prison sentences.”
Illegal dumping was discussed at length between Borruel and Erika Schwerdt. Both are working with Spectrum who is preparing a 30-minute expose’ about the construction waste and trash being dumped by the 10’s of thousands of tons, some with permission from the landowner, some without. Supervisor Barger’s Legislative Analyst has stepped in to help develop the language to streamline codes. Borruel went to the 3 Sisters area, south of Black Butte, with the producers and witnessed unbelievable dumping of every description there. At one time this was a Super Fund Cleanup in the 70’s/80's that cost huge amounts of money for the time, 6 figures. Today it will be in the millions of dollars.
“I am thinking of rotating the WATCH hours so more people can attend when there is a choice. Some can come in the morning, others cannot. Same with the evening hours. When we meet, we will cover everything to discuss and then after taking questions.
“Because of the extreme conditions of the fires and deputies being assigned to Altadena and Pacific Palisades, and the overload in work, or statistician is behind. I hope to have the crime stats for the next meeting. So many people lost everything. Sadness was everywhere. People who you wouldn’t think of crying were crying.
“Speaking of the destruction, do not fall for the scams going on with the tragedy and recovery. Be smarter than that. Don’t fall into those traps. Just don’t do it!” He cited one person who lost $400. It could be a lot more at stake.
The next WATCH is March 18 starting at 6:00pm at M&G’s in Lake Los Angeles.
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