‘Follow-Home’ Bandit Trails, Robs Woman

A 37-year-old woman was robbed shortly after she pulled her Mercedes-Benz into her garage, adding to the growing list of “follow-home robberies” plaguing residents of affluent areas of the San Fernando Valley and West Los Angeles, police said Friday.

Judy Sklar was confronted in the garage of her home on Benedict Canyon Drive south of Mulholland Drive by a robber who took her jewelry and cash at noon Thursday, police said. The value of her loss had not been estimated Friday.

The case has been assigned to a task force of Valley detectives investigating 30 other robberies or attempted robberies since mid-October in which drivers of expensive cars, mostly Mercedes-Benzes, were followed home by armed robbers.

‘Circumstances Similar’

“The circumstances of this one are similar to the others,” Detective Pat Conmay said.

Sklar was not injured. Because of poor lighting in the garage, she was unable to tell police if the robber was armed with a gun, as in the other cases. Conmay said Sklar did not notice if she was being followed as she drove to her home from an office in West Los Angeles. She also did not see if the robber fled in a car.

Police believe that the robberies are the work of several young men who may be part of two or three connected groups. No suspects have been arrested.

Most of the robberies have occurred in hillside areas of the Valley from Sherman Oaks to Woodland Hills, with 12 in Encino. Nine have taken place in West Los Angeles. More than $300,000 in cash, jewelry and furs has been taken.

Police believe that the suspects cruise the streets in affluent areas, follow drivers of expensive cars to their homes and rob them.

Shots have been fired during three of the incidents. A man was shot and seriously injured Dec. 4 when he was confronted at the door of his Bel-Air home. On Jan. 12, a robber fired several shots at an Encino motorist as she fled in a BMW. She was not injured.

A week ago, a 53-year-old man who drove his Mercedes-Benz from Beverly Hills to North Hollywood to visit his 80-year-old mother was shot twice at the door of her home. One bullet struck his mother in a finger, causing the frightened woman to have a heart attack. Both victims are recovering.

The robberies were occurring up to three times a week until early January, when police publicized the crimes. After the publicity the robberies stopped until three occurred this month.