Encino residents, authorities meet over city's troubling spike in crime after "American Idol" producer's deadly shooting
The shooting is just the latest in a trend that has seen the community plagued with smash-and-grab robberies, break-ins, jewelry store burglaries and now murder. Months of this has residents both angry and afraid, concerns they voiced during Monday's meeting.
"What I wanna know is: why does it have to take a death in order for us to have a meeting like this?" one woman asked at the meeting.
Related: Police arrest alleged vandal who had been terrorizing Encino neighborhood for months
She was one of hundreds in attendance, including Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman, who reassured the crowd that he was working to try and mitigate the incidents.
"I've got 750 prosecutors who are on message, on mission, working now with law enforcement every single day to send a message to these criminals, that their golden age of committing crime without consequence is done," he said.
Still, he urged residents to continue asking for more.
"You demand that we get some better safety in this community, and again this community could be the catalyst in making that happen," Hochman said.
Related: Burglars hit Encino home twice in the same week
Officers said that violent crimes in the area are actually down year over year, but that they're always looking for new ways to address community safety and expand services. They say that they've requested additional patrols, flyovers with department aircraft and even mounted patrols.
"The decreases don't matter, there are still people being victimized by these crimes, by these organized burglary crews," said Los Angeles Police Department Captain Mike Bland. "I wanna make sure that you guys understand, I could talk to you about these numbers, but facts remain is we're still here and we're still fearful, that's why this room is filled today."
During the meeting, Hochman also revealed that Kaye and her husband, Thomas Deluca, were shot and killed with their own gun, which the suspect found inside of their home when he allegedly broke in.
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