LOS ANGELES — Four men have been arrested on suspicion of burglarizing the homes of Los Angeles Times subscribers while they were on vacation, authorities said.
Detectives said one of the suspects got lists of subscribers who had submitted “vacation holds” to a vendor that distributes newspapers for The Times.
Duane Van Tuinen, 51, of Azusa is believed to have supplied the burglary crew with the addresses. He was arrested on Wednesday evening.
He serviced machines in the distribution centers that subcontract with the Times to deliver the paper, officials said.
Three other men are also behind bars: Randall Whitmore, 43, of LaVerne; Joshua Box, 43, of Arcadia; and Edwin Valentine, 52, of Covina.
All three men were booked on suspicion of receiving stolen property and possession of stolen property. Deputies are seeking a fifth suspect.
Officials said they have identified 25 victims, but believe there are more than 100.
Most of the break-ins occurred along the 210 Freeway in eastern L.A. County and western San Bernardino County, L.A. County sheriff’s officials said.
The thieves allegedly stole $1 million in property over the last three years.
A six-month investigation led to the recovery of about $100,000 worth of personal property, including artwork, golf clubs and guitars.
But investigators believe the thieves stole many more items including jewelry and collectible coins, that they later sold.
Authorities said the thieves would case the homes of the subscribers who had submitted vacation holds to make sure they were gone before they struck.
In some cases, the burglars found the victims’ cars keys and took the vehicles as well, loaded up with stolen goods.
The case turned last summer, when Glendora police pulled over one of the suspects, who had a list of addresses as well as stolen property, officials said.
Detectives determined that the address belonged to Times subscribers who had stopped delivery while away on vacation.
Investigators looked into whether the list was obtained by computer hacking, but eventually determined it was an inside job.
Sheriff’s officials said The Times has cooperated fully with the investigation.
“The Los Angeles Times was contacted several months ago about criminal activity which may have been linked to subscriber delivery information,” Times’ spokeswoman Nancy Sullivan said.
“We immediately launched an internal review and collaborated with the Sheriff’s Department as matters unfolded, including honoring their request to keep the matter confidential because the investigation was active.
“The Times sympathizes with those who have been harmed and joins the other victims in thanking the Sheriff’s Department for their hard work.”
Sullivan added: “We continuously review and upgrade our policies and systems to protect and best serve our customers.”
Anyone with information, or who thinks they may have been victimized, is asked to call Sheriff’s Major Crimes Bureau detectives at (562) 946-7893.
27 Comments to “Burglary Ring Targets L.A. Times Subscribers”
January 30, 2013 at 6:37 PM
well mark must be a couple of your snatzi imbred partners nah your race is so innocent give me a break
January 31, 2013 at 2:17 PM
The most disturbing part of this story is that people actually pay to read the L.A. Times.
January 30, 2013 at 7:22 PM
I hope they all sue the LA Times real good for being careless with what should be confidential information.
January 30, 2013 at 11:41 PM
This is so wrong . . . inside job. . . well their job will be inside a fence for a very long time. I hope the victims can at least get something back from all of this.
January 30, 2013 at 11:59 PM
Ha Ha! BUSTED!!
January 31, 2013 at 12:02 AM
Save a tree, cancel the paper..
January 31, 2013 at 12:02 AM
i figured it had to be white dudes,cause negroes & mexicans ain't smart enough to pull that off !……..well at least they didn't rape anybody while they were doing their crimes……….
January 31, 2013 at 1:58 AM
Hey mark, if you look in your pants that should explain your hatred of blacks, ok stubby mark?
January 31, 2013 at 9:01 AM
Doh!!: Don't your car about Mexicans? Racist!
January 31, 2013 at 2:28 PM
it all goes back to the crotch, dosen't it.
January 31, 2013 at 1:36 AM
Book 'em Danno!! =)
January 31, 2013 at 7:28 AM
I'm an idiot and white, so what?
January 31, 2013 at 11:47 AM
Tell us something about yourself we don't know
January 31, 2013 at 10:33 AM
I heard on KNX 1070 that the LA Time's solution to this problem is to discontinue the service of vacation holds. So now the paper will pile up on the driveway instead. A sure sign that the subscriber is not home. People, either get your neighbors to pick up the paper for you, or cancel your subscription.
January 31, 2013 at 12:25 PM
Anyone who subscribes to the LA Times deserves to get robbed. What a piece of trash the liberal rag is.
January 31, 2013 at 10:35 AM
Why not find a group that has more people in it? If they only rob LA Times subscribers they can be done in one weekend.
January 31, 2013 at 11:44 AM
yo what's a paper ????……can you say rotteweiler/house sitter
January 31, 2013 at 12:05 PM
It sounds like it wasn't easy for the burglars to get these addresses. Publishing an interactive map of homes would be helpful.
January 31, 2013 at 12:27 PM
What's really newsworthy is that the LA Sheriff actually investigated some residential burglaries.
January 31, 2013 at 12:27 PM
What’s wrong with stealing from the Liberals who subscribe to the Times? After all, they’re electing the Democrats who are stealing from everyone else in the state?
It’s a toss-up as to which is worse, government or big companies. Both are stupid, incompetent and full of people who would rip you off in a heart beat. This is a great funny story.
January 31, 2013 at 12:41 PM
And the newspapers wonder why circulation is dropping off a cliff…
January 31, 2013 at 12:45 PM
This same thing happened about 20 yrs or so ago in socal. I can't remember if it was the Times or the Register.
January 31, 2013 at 2:39 PM
That's why I never subscribe or even read that propaganda tool of La Raza Mayor Villaraigosa. La Times will never mention the criminal suspects' race if they were of Hispanic descent. How can the public help in apprehending them?
January 31, 2013 at 9:17 PM
Virtually every paper in the country does the same "lie of omission" with black criminals. One learns to "read between the lines" in this age of pseudo-journalism.
January 31, 2013 at 3:41 PM
I like the L.A. TImes. It is very fine paper for cleaning my guns on, catching puppy poop and for lining rabbit cages. Plus they keep delivering it for free even though I called and cancelled it twice. My neighbors use it to pick up their dog poop when I am out of town as well. Win-Win!
January 31, 2013 at 4:55 PM
It took the cops 3 years to break this case, and even then it was just dumb luck from a dumb criminal.
How freaking hard would it have been for the cops to start to put it together that the people had been on vacation and had put a vacation hold on their paper or mail? With cops as dumb as these it's no wonder this went on for 3 years.