Woman wearing “Palisades Strong” T-shirt accused of plundering a wildfire-burning house
A woman wearing a “Palisades Strong” T-shirt is part of a campaign to promote unity and resilience among fire victims – was taken Friday for allegedly looting a house destroyed by a devastating wildfire last month. catch.
The woman, identified as Karen Mastey, stole many antiques from her residence burned in the January 7 fire, and the resident destroyed nearly 7,000 houses and other buildings. And killed at least 12.
In the weeks since the fire broke out, many retailers have sold items decorated with the “La Strong” logo – the proceeds are intended to be used to restore work. Shirts with similar resilience, solidarity and hope for Pacific Palisade residents have popped up in many online markets.
The California Highway Patrol received a 911 call from a homeowner Friday afternoon who was returning home to retrieve some “items that set them aside” and found some missing, according to a CHP spokesman. After the items were found a suspicious vehicle.
CHP Sgt. Daniel Keene said the vehicle had left the area when officials arrived, but the homeowner provided them with descriptions of the suspect and her vehicle. Investigators later determined that the vehicle had been registered at the Santa Clarita address about 35 miles north of the crime scene, Keene said. The Center for Health Protection said in a press release that officials were dispatched to the site where they found Musti possessed some stolen items and arrested her for allegedly being a major theft.
“I am very proud of our officers’ swift action to protect the public and prevent further harm,” Keane said.
He said no lawsuit was filed against Masty as of Saturday, but the agency had further details on the case to be released on Monday.
An online jail roster shows Mastey was booked under her maiden name and was later released. It lists her age as 53.
In recent weeks, state lawmakers have raised severe penalties for robbery and other opportunistic crimes during disasters to ease residents’ fears of evacuation homes.
However, publicly available statistics show that such crimes are not as common as some people.
Authorities say at least twenty people have been arrested in the evacuation area after the recent Palisades and Eton wildfires.
A group of alleged thieves reportedly stole $200,000 worth of at least 17 killed by killing a house in Mandeville Canyon near Santa Monica.
Supported by police and firefighter groups, some lawmakers have proposed criminal laws that treat burglaries in emergency areas as felonies and may be severely punished. A proposed bill will also combat people who imitate police, firefighters or paramedics during wildfires.
Los Angeles County. Atti. Nathan Hochman’s office has filed lawsuits in 27 criminal cases related to wildfires, calling for existing laws to crack down on such crimes to be “overwhelmed”.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department has established a raider suppression team to provide closer surveillance and provide faster response times to the evacuated Altadena community.
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The story originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times.
