Pacific Palisades is an isolated pocket within Los Angeles where people know their neighbors and crime rates are among the lowest in the city. But don’t tell that to the Burkholder family, which lives near the El Medio bluffs. They experienced two terror-filled nights until a trespasser on their property was finally arrested. Their ordeal began at 5:45 a.m. on December 4, when a flashlight shone into a bedroom window located at the rear of the Burkholder house; their back yard is only accessible via a side yard and two gates. The couple called 911. While Mrs. Burkholder was on the phone, her husband opened the back door and asked the intruder what he was doing there. ‘Delivering roses,’ he replied. The intruder then walked from the backyard around the house to the front door. When Mr. Burkholder confronted him again, the intruder left. During this time Mrs. Burkholder was on the phone with 911. When the operator learned that the trespasser had left, a patrol car was not sent. Mrs. Burkholder called LAPD’s West L.A. Station as well as Palisades Senior Lead Officer Michael Moore. But the police never came, she said. Moore told the Palisadian-Post he never received the call. Frightened that the intruder might return, the Burkholders left all their lights on for the next two evenings. ‘It looked like Fort Knox,’ she said. On Thursday (December 6), they were awakened at 1 a.m. when they heard a bang on the bedroom door. The intruder was back and pressing his face against the door window. The husband called 911, and the operator said, ‘There’s no patrol car in your area.’ ‘The guy was laughing outside,’ Mrs. Burkholder said, ‘And when the 911 operator made my husband repeat his name, we could hear the intruder mimicking my husband.’ When the intruder went to the front door, Mrs. Burkholder called her neighbor and asked her to call Palisades Patrol. The intruder rang the doorbell and then ran to a kitchen window and pressed his face against the glass. Mr. Burkholder punched the glass, scaring the intruder but injuring his hand. About 10 minutes after the Burkholder’s initial 911 call, a helicopter and an LAPD patrol car responded and the intruder ran off. ‘It seemed like forever,’ Mrs. Burkholder said. With a tip from the neighbors, the police found the trespasser in his red Suburban parked on a nearby street. The man taken into custody was identified as Lupe Fidel Venegas, 38, who apparently had been living in his car, police said. Bail was originally set for $1,000 for trespassing, but after hearing the Burkholders’ story, the city district attorney raised it to $30,000. A flyer was distributed in the El Medio bluffs neighborhood, stating that Venegas had a record of child molestation, burglary and other offenses. According to Officer Moore, ‘Venegas had a child annoying arrest on his record (child annoying usually covers verbal annoyances).’ Moore added, ‘It appears that Lupe [Venegas] was looking for his lover and believed his lover was hiding in the Burkholders’ home. It is unlikely that he poses a danger to the Palisades community at this time.’ Subsequently, the Palisadian-Post learned on Tuesday from Ventura County D.A. Tom Dunlevy that there was a bench warrant out for Venegas for failure to appear in court on December 10. Venegas had been charged with one felony count for corporal injury to a cohabitant. His current bail has been increased to $130,000. Venegas’ car was towed from the El Medio bluffs area on December 9, and his pre-trial date is scheduled for today, December 20. The Burkholders were satisfied to know that Venegas was being held, but were concerned about the more troubling issues: Why wasn’t their first 911 call recorded and why wasn’t there a patrol car available? ‘I know the police have a big area to cover, but when you call 911, just send someone, don’t tell us there’s no patrol car in the area,’ Mrs. Burkholder said. Pacific Palisades does have a 24/7 designated patrol car and Moore was questioned why the Burkholders had been told there was no patrol car. Moore told the Post that a new night-watch lieutenant had been assigned and was unaware that a patrol car had been designated for the Palisades. According to Moore the oversight has been corrected and the patrol car is back on duty. ‘I hope that nobody has to go through this again,’ Mrs. Burkholder said. ‘We still sleep with our lights on.’
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