Multiple law enforcement sources told NBC News that two men were spotted in the bushes Tuesday night just outside the Getty House in Windsor Square, the official residence of Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, less than three months after the men were arrested for burglarizing the home while Bass and her family were asleep and unguarded.
According to sources, around 10:15 p.m., officers from the Los Angeles Police Department’s Olympic Station were dispatched with lights and sirens to the rear of the Getty House grounds, known as Code 3, after men were seen on security cameras.
Initial reports said the two men were wearing dark clothing and were crouching behind a hedge, one of them carrying a backpack.
“Getty House security observed two individuals loitering around the perimeter of the property,” the Los Angeles Police Department confirmed Thursday. “They requested that Olympic units be deployed to investigate their behavior near the property.”
Police added that no crime was committed and there was no connection to the property.
“The two individuals were completely unrelated and were asked to leave,” the Los Angeles Police Department said.
Los Angeles Police Chief Dominic Choi told the I-Team in April that security at the Getty Mansion would be increased after a man described as a mentally ill, homeless man broke into the mansion by smashing a window.
Ephraim Hunter, 29, was arrested April 21 and charged with criminal damage to property and theft. He was being held on $100,000 bail while awaiting trial, according to court and jail records.
The mayor’s press office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Choi said in April that Hunter’s theft occurred when there were gaps in security on the Getty House grounds and no security or LAPD officers were on site.
“There was a short gap there, and that’s when the incident happened,” Choi said. “That gap has been eliminated. We’ve created an overlap.”
Law enforcement sources told the I-Team that the LAPD had stepped up security following the April robbery, and at one point had officers work 12-hour shifts to remain on the premises, but it was unclear if the added measures were in place Tuesday night.