West Valley Sweep : Police Invite Burglary Victims to Reclaim Loot

Detectives have recovered $150,000 worth of property believed stolen and arrested five people in a continuing investigation of burglaries in the West San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles police announced Thursday.

But, of 1,400 items recovered, including cameras, videocassette recorders, television sets, clothing and jewelry, only a small number have been traced to known burglaries. So police are using another strategy in tracing the goods to crimes--a mass display at a police station, with West Valley burglary victims invited to try to identify their property.

The unusual viewing has been scheduled next week at the Van Nuys police station, Lt. William Gaida said.

10 Other Suspects

The five people arrested since the investigation began in January are believed to have bought the goods from drug-addict burglars, Gaida said. Some of the loot is believed to have been destined for sale in Mexico. There are 10 other suspects in the case, which covers home burglaries and department-store thefts dating to 1985, he said.

About 25 of the items have been positively identified as stolen property, Detective Joel Price said. A few yet to be matched with a theft are easily identifiable, such as personalized jewelry and a camera that contained film. Police developed the film and found pictures of an Asian family sitting in a living room, Price said.

Detectives found the goods during recent searches of six residences in Canoga Park, three in Reseda and one in Northridge. They arrested Antonia Meza, 59, and Eva Morales, 46, both of Canoga Park; Raul Aguilar, 38, and Ronald Hockman, 29, both of Reseda, and Dmitri Kontapedis, 42, of North Hollywood, Sgt. Chris Biller said.

All have been charged with receiving stolen property, although only Hockman and Kontapedis face felony charges, Biller said. Each is free on $1,000 bail, he said.

There is no evidence that the suspects were part of an organized ring, Biller said.

Police said those arrested are believed to be “fences” who bought the goods at bargain prices from burglars who steal to support drug habits.

Exchange for Cash

“The dope dealer can’t stick a VCR up his nose,” Capt. John Higgins said. “He has got to translate it into cash.”

Among the confiscated merchandise is a large amount of clothing taken from department stores by people using stolen credit cards or a “kamikaze” technique, Biller said. Those thieves charge into a store, grab as many clothes as they can and run to a getaway car, he said.

A reliable informant told detectives where to find the stolen goods and reported that some of the items, particularly clothing, were to be sold in Mexico, Gaida said. Such a scheme would be “a good way to avoid detection,” he said.

Police indicated that they already had taken painstaking steps to trace some of the goods. In one search, Price said, detectives found a 1966 graduation ring from LaGrange High School and inscribed with initials. Price said he traced it to a school in LaGrange, Ga., and found that a graduate with those initials was living in Canoga Park. The man had reported a burglary in 1985.

Gaida said the property display will be open only to people who filed police reports of burglaries in the West Valley, defined as the area west of Balboa Boulevard. The goods will be shown at the Van Nuys Division station from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday, he said.