Suspect in custody after break-in at home of Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, police say

Cindy Von Quednow, CNN | 4/22/2024, 3:25 p.m.

 A 29-year-old suspect is in custody after the official residence of Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass was broken into Sunday morning while she was home, police and her spokesperson said.

Ephraim Matthew Hunter, of Los Angeles, faces a burglary charge in the incident, Los Angeles police said on X. He’s being held in lieu of a $100,000 bail, according to Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department records that do not list his next court date.

It’s unclear if Hunter has an attorney at this time.

Detectives are still investigating the motive, including whether the mayor was specifically targeted, a law enforcement source familiar with the investigation said. The booking process continued Sunday evening, the source noted.

At around 6:40 a.m., a person smashed a window to get into the Getty House, the Los Angeles Police Department said in a social media post.

Bass was inside at the time, and no one in the family was harmed, a spokesperson for the Democratic mayor said. The nondescript Tudor-style home sits on a corner in the Windsor Square neighborhood and fits seamlessly into its lineup of historic mansions.

“Mayor Bass and her family were not injured and are safe. The Mayor is grateful to LAPD for responding and arresting the suspect,” the spokesperson, Zach Seidl, said in a statement.

Officers are seeking search warrants for digital devices used by the suspect, the source said. The investigation is ongoing, police said. Neither Seidl nor police have provided more details about the incident.

This is the second time Bass has been the victim of a home break-in as a public official.

In September 2022, while she was serving in the US House of Representatives and running for mayor, a different home in which Bass was living was burglarized and two firearms were stolen.

“It’s unnerving and, unfortunately, it’s something that far too many Angelenos have faced,” she said at the time.

Two men later pleaded no contest to burglary and grand theft charges in the case.

CNN’s Josh Campbell and Taylor Romine contributed to this report.