Telltale Tattoo Helps Convict Car Burglar

A man who was identified with a four-inch “White Pride” tattoo on his upper back was sentenced to one year in jail Friday after a Municipal Court jury found him guilty of burglarizing a parked car.

Robert Vince Jr., 31, was sentenced by Van Nuys Municipal Judge Paul I. Metzler on one count each of burglary and tampering with a motor vehicle after a three-day trial and six hours of jury deliberations.

The charges stem from a May 19 incident in the parking lot of an office building at 6913 Valjean Ave., Van Nuys, according to Deputy City Atty. Cindy Polak, who prosecuted the case.

A 21-year-old Granada Hills man who works in the building saw Vince inside his car, apparently attempting to remove the radio, Polak said.

The car owner saw Vince’s face and telltale tattoo before the suspect fled, she said. He drove around the area and spotted Vince walking on Woodley Avenue.

He alerted a passing police car and pointed Vince out to the officers, who apprehended him, Polak said.

Though the defense challenged the victim’s identification of Vince, the deciding evidence was the victim’s testimony that he saw a “White Pride” tattoo on the man whom he saw in the parking lot. He later pointed the matching tattoo out to police, Polak said.