Arrest of Burglary Suspect Is a Small Feat

An alleged burglar, who hid for three hours in an 18-inch crawl space above the ceiling of a Northridge liquor store, surrendered Saturday morning after a “small” group of police officers cornered him, authorities said.

Police said four of the smallest officers on duty in the Devonshire Division were dispatched to Balboa Liquors after the suspect had holed himself up between the roof and a drop ceiling. The officers climbed into the tiny crawl space and were closing in on the suspect when he announced, “I give up.”

Timothy Humphrey, a 28-year-old transient, was arrested at 7:30 a.m. on suspicion of burglary, Sgt. Dave Johnson said. Hidden with the suspect in the ceiling rafters was a sack containing about $10,000 in cash and some gold jewelry taken from the safe in the store at Balboa Boulevard and Parthenia Street, Johnson said.

Police had been called to the liquor store at 4:30 a.m. after a burglar alarm sounded. Johnson said one officer climbed onto the roof and saw a hole had been cut into the building.

“When the officer got close he saw the burglar’s head peep out,” Johnson said. “The burglar put his flashlight on the officer and the officer put his flashlight on the burglar and then the guy dropped down out of sight.”

A police dog was able to determine that the man had hidden in the store’s drop ceiling. But the dog was not sent in to retrieve the suspect because officers feared it would fall through a ceiling panel.

After waiting nearly three hours for the suspect to surrender, supervisors on the scene put out a call for officers of “smaller stature” who could go into the crawl space and get him, Johnson said.