Suspect in West L.A. burglaries is arrested
Call him the clean getaway bandit.
For three months, a career criminal with a 25-page rap sheet allegedly burglarized 18 laundry facilities at apartment complexes in West Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Police Department said Wednesday.
Chris Kinard allegedly sent the number of burglaries soaring in West Los Angeles for a couple of months until July 26, when an apartment owner found an intruder in the laundry area of her building in the 800 block of South Wooster Street, police said.
When he jammed the door and refused to let her in, she called police. The suspect fled, but police cruisers flooded the area and he was arrested after a foot pursuit.
“A burglary is a burglary, be it half a million dollars in the hills or coins from washers,” said Lt. Ray Lombardo.
“Every burglary counts as a crime,” he said.
Police allege that Kinard used a tire iron and bag of tools to break into laundry areas and then pry stacks of coins from the machines.
He was charged with four burglaries and a third strike, which could result in a sentence of 15 years to life, Lombardo said.
Kinard has been out of prison for about a year, and his rap sheet of crimes stretches 25 pages, Lombardo said.
Kinard said he was a transient living in a local park at the time of the crimes.
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