Teen Girl Clique Busted Over Burglary Spree in the Hollywood Hills
Cops claim teens robbed homes of Lohan, Bloom, Patridge.
Oct. 24, 2009— -- Four teenage girls and a man are in custody, accused of carrying out a string of burglaries in Hollywood, Calif., targeting celebrities including Lindsay Lohan, Orlando Bloom and Audrina Patridge.
The five people were all arrested Thursday and booked on charges of residential burglary, with bail set at $50,000 each, according to a statement from the Los Angeles Police Department.
Rachel Lee, 18, was arrested in Las Vegas, while Courtney Ames and Alexis Neiers, both 18; Diana Tamayo, 19; and Roy Lopez Jr., 27, were arrested in the Los Angeles area, police said.
Lee, Neiers and Ames have all posted bail, police in Los Angeles and Las Vegas told ABC News.
Investigators carrying out search warrants in the case recovered numerous items of property "stolen during a series of burglaries committed at the residences of well known celebrities," according to an LAPD statement.
Police also found three firearms and a large amount of narcotics, the statement said.
ABC News Los Angeles affiliate KABC-TV and other media reported that the victims of the so-called "Hollywood Hills Burglars" included Lohan, Bloom and Partridge.
Surveillance cameras captured images of two suspects wearing caps and masks outside Lohan's now former home.
Another man, Nicholas Prugo, 18, was charged Tuesday with two counts of residential burglary in connection with break-ins at the homes of Lohan and Patridge, KABC-TV reported. He is scheduled to be arraigned Nov. 11.
LAPD spokeswoman Rosario Herrera told The Associated Press that she didn't know whether the suspects have any links to Prugo, who allegedly stole $170,000 worth of designer jewelry and clothes from Lohan and Patridge.
Bloom was allegedly robbed of close to $500,000 worth of jewelry and cash during a burglary in July, while Patridge, one of the stars of "The Hills," designer jewelry, handbags, clothes and much more stolen from her home, the TV station reported.
Lindsay Lohan, Orlando Bloom Burglary Suspects Arrested
Paris Hilton's gated estate may have been one of the burglars' first targets when $2 million worth of jewelry was stolen from her home in December, according to KABC-TV.
Police said that none of the celebrities were at home when their homes were burglarized, and it appeared that the crooks knew the layouts of the homes and where to look for the cash, jewelry and other valuables.