Brad Pitt's L.A. home torn up by burglars while he attends ‘F1' premiere
Los Angeles police officials said a break-in at a home occurred around 10:30 p.m. Wednesday.
At least three suspects scaled the security fence at Pitt's Los Feliz-area house and smashed a window before entering, making 'a real mess' and stealing some items, according to sources not authorized to discuss the case.
Pitt's possessions were tossed and overturned as the thieves 'had gone through looking for what they could take of value,' said one source familiar with the crime.
Pitt is one of the latest celebrities to see their home burglarized. South American theft gangs have plagued upscale areas of L.A. in recent years.
In early February, Olivier Giroud, the French striker who plays for Los Angeles FC, had his home targeted and $500,000 worth of jewelry and watches stolen, sources said. Then on Valentine's Day, Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban's home was burglarized.
Pitt's midcentury modern home, dubbed the Steel House, is one of several owned by the movie star. He was in London on Monday night for the European premiere of 'F1: The Movie.'
Last August, the FBI, working with local police, dismantled a multimillion-dollar crime tourism ring that had operated for years in Southern California, facilitating thefts across the country. Their investigation led them to a most unusual hub: a Los Angeles car rental business.
The group directed crime tourists who committed hundreds of thefts across the nation — including in Santa Barbara, Ventura, Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego counties — beginning around 2018. The thefts occurred in about 80 cities in California, Colorado, Arizona, New Jersey, Kansas and Illinois and netted about $5.5 million for those charged in the case, according to the indictment. Prosecutors, however, estimated the loss to businesses and homeowners at about $35 million.
The trend of South American crime groups visiting Southern California for thefts and robberies emerged roughly six years ago, and authorities have been grappling to get it under control.
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The death of Daniel Park, the Washington state man accused of conspiring to bomb a fertility clinic in California, is being investigated as a suicide, according to Park's former defense attorney. Peter Hardin, a defense attorney who was representing Park, told CBS News that Park's parents "were able to locate and recover Daniel's body" but his family has not been notified about an official cause of death. As Park's death in federal custody is being investigated as a possible death by suicide, other attorneys have raised questions about the L.A. lockup. A U.S. Bureau of Prisons spokesperson declined to answer questions about the investigation of Park's death. Park had arrived at the L.A. detention center on June 13. His death at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Los Angeles was confirmed by the U.S. Bureau of Prisons on June 24, but authorities have not disclosed the cause. The death of the 32-year-old has shuttered the federal criminal prosecution and thickens the cloud of mystery surrounding the May 17 bombing attack at the American Reproductive Centers fertility clinic in Palm Springs, California. The alleged bomber and Park's alleged co-conspirator, 25-year-old Guy Bartkus, was killed in the bombing, the FBI said. Four people were injured in the explosion. Park was accused of shipping approximately 180 pounds of ammonium nitrate to be used by Bartkus. He was charged with Attempting to Provide Material Support to Terrorists, Conspiracy to manufacture unregistered destructive devices and aiding and abetting the manufacture of unregistered destructive devices. Prosecutors alleged Park and Bartkus shared extremist views. In a charging document, the Justice Department said, "Bartkus's attack was motivated by his pro-mortalism, anti-natalism, and anti-pro-life ideology, which is the belief that individuals should not be born without their consent and that non-existence is best." Akil Davis, assistant director in charge of the FBI's Los Angeles field office, said Bartkus had "nihilistic ideations" and investigators believe he was attempting to livestream the bombing. Park's death closes the only prosecution in the fertility clinic bombing. It also comes amid questions about the conditions at the L.A. Metropolitan Detention Center. The prison is where people charged with a crime are held prior to and during court proceedings. It also holds those serving short sentences. Immigration lawyers in California told CBS News last month that they have been receiving increasing calls about unmet medical needs at the detention center. One lawyer, who chose not to identify herself because she has clients inside the detention center, said there are reports of "inhumane" conditions, including food shortages, cramped confinement, freezing temperatures and environments that are a "ticking-time bomb." A 2024 report by the Justice Department's Office of Inspector General raised concerns about the Bureau of Prisons' response to inmate emergencies. "We found significant shortcomings in BOP staff's emergency responses to nearly half of the inmate deaths we reviewed," the report said. "These shortcomings ranged from a lack of urgency in responding, failure to bring or use appropriate emergency equipment, unclear radio communications, and issues with naloxone administration in opioid overdose cases." Responding to the inspector general's findings, a Bureau of Prisons spokesperson told CBS News: "Any unexpected death of an inmate is tragic. "As noted in the Inspector General's report, we have already taken many steps to mitigate these deaths, and we welcome Inspector General's recommendations as a way to further our efforts. We will continue to work with the Office of Inspector General," the spokesperson said.
