Police in Los Angeles arrested a 29-year-old suspect following a break-in at the home of progressive Mayor Karen Bass on Sunday morning.
Bass and her family were not harmed when a man,Ephraim Matthew Hunter, gained access to Getty House, the LA mayor's official residence on Irving Boulevard.
'Around 6:40am this morning an individual smashed a window to gain entry into the Getty House while occupied,' the Los Angeles Police Department said in a statement on social media, adding that police responded and took a suspect into custody without incident.
'Mayor Bass and her family were not injured and are safe. The Mayor is grateful to LAPD for responding and arresting the suspect,' her office said in a statement.
Hunter is being held in lieu of $50,000, according to jail records. A case will likely be presented to the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office this week.
Ephraim Matthew Hunter, 29, was arrested by LAPD for breaking into Mayor Karen Bass's home at Getty House without harming the mayor or her family
Getty House is where Mayor Karen Bass is currently living while mayor of the city
Bass served as a Democratic member of Congressfrom 2011 until her electionas the city's 43rd mayor in 2022.
The former state Assembly leader is the first woman and second black person to hold the post, after former Mayor Tom Bradley, who held the position from 1973 to 1993.
Mayor Bass has helped push progressive policies across the city including no-cash bail.
The policy means individuals who are arrested and charged with a crime are then released from custody without having to pay bail money upfront. Critics say the elimination of cash bail offenses is an invitation for those to continue to brazenly break the law.
It is the second time in three years Bass has been the victim of a break-in.
In 2022, while she was running for office, two men stole a pair of handguns from her Baldwin Vista home.
They only took the two weapons leaving behind cash and electronics.
Patricio Munoz and Juan Espinoza pleaded no contest last year to burglary and grand theft of a firearm. Both received prison sentences.
Among the 46,000 people in Los Angeles experiencing homelessness, there are dozens living along the Arroyo Seco next to the 110 Freeway near Highland Park (pictured)
Bass' latest break-in comes just days after the mayor asked the city's rich and famous to help with the city's homeless crisis by offering affordable long-term housing rather than cracking down and cleaning up the streets.
Staggering footage shows a homeless city along an LA freeway where residents have built front doors, electricity and even hammocks.
Soaring numbers of rough sleepers have led to dozens congregating along theArroyo Seco next to the busy 110 freeway, video shows.
Mayor Bass asked the city's rich and famous to fund 'affordable' long term housing for its 46,000 homeless people.
The mayor urged the 'most fortunate' to step up during herState of the City address last Monday. Her campaign, called LA4LA, would see wealthy residents help 'speed up' efforts to purchase homes.
'Right now, we're working to move past nightly rentals,' Bass said. 'We are asking the most fortunate Angelinos to participate in this effort, with personal, private sector and philanthropic funds – to help us acquire more properties, lower the cost of capital and speed up housing.'
Residents of the freeway city have front doors, working power and even hammocks for relaxing in
Bass asked the city's rich and famous to fork out to help tackle the homelessness crisis by funding 'affordable' homes
Along the busy freeway, structures include one with a stone wall, a front door and even electric lighting powered by stolen electricity.
One resident has even strung up a hammock for relaxing despite the roar of traffic. Disgruntled neighbors believe the encampment should be swept away.
'This doesn't belong here. This is public property,' Neighbor Mike Ancheta told the outlet. 'But this is not what it's supposed to be used for. This is dangerous. As you can see, someone is cooking out there, an open fire. They are stealing electricity. I mean, come on.'
It follows the controversial mansion tax, whichintroduced a four percent levy on all homes over $5 million in a bid to generate funds for homelessness prevention.
The tax has been widely deridedafter sales of luxury homes plummetedas the wealthy skirted around the policy, generating around $700 million less than forecast.
On top of the four percent tax on properties over $5 million, for mega mansions that break the $ 10million threshold, homeowners lose 5.5 percent of their sale price if they decide to cash in on their estate.
The result has been a 70 percent dip in sales of high end homes, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Neighbors next to the freeway city claimed residents are stealing electricity to power their shelters and questioned why they have not been moved on
Bass has instead urged the 'most fortunate' to help deal with the crisis as part of the LA4LA scheme, her latest homelessness prevention initiative
One breathtaking mansion within a gated estate in the affluent LA suburb of Tarzana has dropped $2.9 million, from $17.9 million in July 2023 to its current price of $15 million
Bass has said it is up to the rich to help solve the city's homeless problem, which she described as a 'disaster.'
'We must prevail on the humanity and generosity of the private sector,' she said.
'LA4LA can be a sea change for Los Angles, an unprecedented partnership to confront this emergency, an example of disrupting the status quo to build a new system to save lives.'
Her comments echo those made about the several other homelessness initiatives launched in the region to the tune of billions of dollars.
Bass touted herInside Safe program as evidence of the success of her policies. The initiative moved over 21,000 homeless people into temporary shelters, according to The Associated Press.
However, the scheme cost $67 million in its first year and saw just 255 people placed in permanent housing, NBCreports.
On her first day Bass declared a state of emergency over the swelling homeless population.
Homelessness in LA surged by 10 percent compared to last year despite billions of investment in the area
The Mayor also warned that homelessness could spike even further due to the end of Covid-19 related assistance for low income families and evictions.
But despite her numerous initiatives, the numbers have only continued to soar, rising by around 10 percent in the last year.
The Mayor also warned that homelessness could spike even further due to the end of Covid-19 related assistance for low income families and evictions.
The city council has now agreed to pay an external firm $2.2 millionto audit its homelessness programs after a request by a federal judge.
Beleaguered Bass also faces a legal challenge from disgruntled business owners who claim she reneged on a2020 settlement agreement that promised to cleanup homeless encampments.
