Burglary Suspects Charged with Gang Affiliation, Earlier Burglary

Sheriff's investigators have connected two burglary suspects captured Tuesday to a Los Angeles-based gang and an additional Diamond Bar burglary that took place earlier that day.

Sheriff's Lt. Steve Katz of the Walnut/Diamond Bar station said that the suspects — Dotson Brown, 25, and Richard Brown, 18, of Los Angeles — have been charged with a total of three counts of burglary with enhancements for allegations of gang involvement.

Katz said detectives are still developing leads to track down a third suspect who .

Sheriff's captured the two suspects after officers received a burglary-in-progress call from residents of a home in the 23000 block of Chandelle Place at 1:18 p.m.

Katz said there was no attack on the residents during the break-in and Sheriff's encountered the suspects fleeing the scene with two bags of items later found to belong to the Chandelle home, where Katz said the suspects likely expected nobody to be home.

Typically, Katz said, daytime burglars will target homes where they believe residents are gone.

Sheriff's believe that is the case with a home burglarized earlier in the day in the 21000 block of Davan Street, near the intersection of Golden Springs Drive and Brea Canyon Road, where residents had been gone since the early morning.

Katz said investigators discovered items reportedly belonging to the Davan Street home in the vehicle of the two suspects captured in connection with the later Chandelle burglary.

The suspects were charged for that crime in addition to a third charge for breaking into a home on Gold Rush Drive after the Chandelle incident. The suspects were discovered hiding in the attic of the Gold Rush home after Sheriff's deputies had established a containment in that neighborhood.

A broken window marked with blood prompted officers to search the Gold Rush home. The two suspects resisted arrest upon discovery in the attic and both were pepper sprayed, which brought one suspect into police hands. The second was brought down by a police dog.

Both suspects were then medically cleared at a nearby hospital before being booked at the Walnut station on burglary charges.

Katz said residents can protect against burglaries by ensuring that they have a strong deadbolt lock on all doors in the home as well as a network of neighbors that may be able to report any suspicious activity.

"If something looks out of place, (a call) gives deputies the tools to contact the individuals and see if there is a valid purpose for being in the neighborhood," Katz said.

Katz said Sheriff's depend on a partnership with the community to keep an eye on suspicious activity.

Anyone with information about this incident is encouraged to contact the Walnut/Diamond Bar Sheriff's Station, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, at (909) 595-2264. Anonymous tips can also be given using "Crime Stoppers" by dialing 800-222-TIPS (8477), texting the letters TIPLA plus your tip to CRIMES (274637), or using the website http://lacrimestoppers.org.