Man in His 80s Scares Off West Hollywood Burglar During Home Invasion

A West Hollywood burglar climbed a ladder to break into Victor’s second-floor condo Sunday but the man in his 80s confronted him and scared him off.

Victor came out of his bedroom and found himself face-to-face with the intruder in his hallway.

“All of a sudden, you see a man who you don’t know in your hallway,” Victor told KTLA. The burglar put his finger to his lips, gesturing for Victor to stay quiet. Check out the KTLA video above for a great look at the suspects and their getaway car.

Victor started screaming at him to get out instead.

As of Wednesday morning, the West Hollywood Sheriff’s confirmed there have been no arrests or new information. 

The Break-In

Surveillance video from the condo near Hilldale Avenue and Vista Grande Street shows two suspects sizing up Victor’s balcony around midday on February 1. One carried a collapsible ladder.

The suspect propped the ladder against the balcony while his accomplice kept watch below. He climbed up, cut the lock, and went inside.

That’s when Victor confronted him. The burglar ran back out and scrambled down the ladder. Both suspects fled empty-handed in what neighbors described as a light-colored Honda or Toyota crossover.

Pattern in the Neighborhood

Victor’s neighbor Jeff lives across the street. His cameras caught the suspects leaving in their getaway vehicle. The car was described “as a light-colored, small SUV… either a Honda or a Toyota.”

“They’re clearly looking for something they can carry, as they’re not trying to climb down a ladder with something huge,” Jeff told KTLA. “It’s gotta be jewelry and money.”

Jeff said this was the third similar burglary on their street recently. All three involved balconies reachable by ladder.

Victor thinks he may have seen one of the suspects before, possibly casing the neighborhood. The man wore a distinctive motorcycle-style backpack and spent time on the corner of Hilldale and Vista Grande, looking into alleys and studying the area.

Recent West Hollywood Burglaries

The Hilldale Avenue incident is at least the fourth residential burglary in West Hollywood since mid-January. On January 18, two masked burglars broke into a duplex on North Poinsettia Place around 1:20 p.m. while neighbors were having a backyard barbecue in an adjacent unit. The suspects fled empty-handed after a resident who was home upstairs confronted them mid-break-in.

Days later on January 21, deputies responded to a burglary at 912 West Knoll Drive after a homeowner watching their security camera saw two males wearing black hoodies and masks inside their residence. Deputies were dispatched Code 3 to the gated community.

Despite the recent uptick in residential break-ins, West Hollywood’s overall crime fell 12% in 2025 compared to 2024, according to Sheriff’s Department data. The city recorded 1,901 Part 1 crimes last year versus 2,167 in 2024. However, residential burglaries remain a concern, particularly incidents involving balconies accessible by ladder.

Anyone with information about the suspects can call the West Hollywood Sheriff’s Station at 310-855-8850.

As of Wednesday morning, the West Hollywood Sheriff’s Station told WEHOonline there have been no arrests or new information in the case.