Photo: ROBYN BECK / AFP / Getty Images
LOS ANGELES (CNS) - A man with a prior conviction in Massachusetts was charged Tuesday with breaking into the Windsor Square residence of Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, and the district attorney said investigators believe the suspect knew it was the mayor's home and specifically targeted her.
Ephraim Matthew Hunter, 29, pleaded not guilty late Tuesday afternoon to one felony count each of first-degree residential burglary with a person present and vandalism causing damage of $400 or more, along with an allegation that he has a 2016 conviction for robbery from Massachusetts.
District Attorney George Gascón said Hunter faces up to 13 years and four months in prison if he is convicted as charged.
Superior Court Judge Kimberley Baker Guillemet ordered Hunter to remain jailed in lieu of $100,000 bail while he awaits his next appearance in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom May 6, when a date is scheduled to be set for a hearing to determine if there is enough evidence for him to stand trial.
The judge also ordered the defendant to stay away from the home and its occupants.
Deputy District Attorney Jonathan Chung told the judge that the home's occupants were sleeping when Hunter allegedly "bodily" broke the rear door, tried to get into the bedroom doors and was able to "call out the name" of one of the occupants. Damage was estimated at between $5,000 and $10,000, according to the prosecutor.
Deputy Public Defender Carlos Bido said his client wanted to either be released on his own recognizance or on house arrest, saying that Hunter could not afford to post the $100,000 bail amount.
During an afternoon news conference, Gascón told reporters that investigators believe based in part on Hunter's actions inside the home that the defendant knew the Getty House estate at 605 S. Irving Blvd. was the mayor's official residence and he was specifically "targeting" Bass during the break-in.
"We believe that he was targeting the mayor," the district attorney said.
Gascón declined to elaborate on additional details of the continuing investigation, saying only, "We're going on the assumption that he knew" it was Bass' official residence. The assumption, however, is likely due to Chung's statement in court that the defendant was able to "call out the name" of the occupants of the home.
The break-in occurred around 6:40 a.m. Sunday, with the suspect breaking a glass door and entering the home while the mayor was inside with her daughter, son-in-law and recently born grandson, Gascón said.
According to the district attorney, Hunter cut himself on the broken glass while entering the residence, and left blood stains throughout the home.
Police said the break-in triggered an alarm that alerted police. Hunter was arrested at the scene without incident.
Citing unnamed law enforcement sources, the Los Angeles Times reported Monday that the burglar managed to reach the second floor of Getty House during the break-in, forcing Bass and her family to hide in a "safe area" of the home, similar to a "panic room." Gascón would not confirm that report.
Neither the mayor nor her family were injured.
Los Angeles Police Department Interim Chief Dominic Choi told reporters Tuesday that the break-in occurred during a shift change among security officers at the home, so there were no security personnel present at the time. But he said given the size of the Getty House property, even having a security officer there may not have prevented the break-in, which occurred through a back entrance of the home.
He said, however, that the scheduling of security personnel at the property has now been adjusted to remove any "gap" in coverage. He noted that the mayor's standard LAPD security detail was scheduled to begin its duties at 7 a.m. Sunday, and they were heading to the home when the break-in occurred.
Choi, who spoke to reporters several hours before Gascón's late- afternoon news conference, indicated that there did not appear to be anything in Hunter's background to suggest the crime was a "targeted or purposeful" effort to victimize the mayor.
A woman identifying herself as Hunter's mother told the Los Angeles Times Monday that she spoke to her son from jail following his arrest, and said Hunter had no idea the house was the mayor's residence.
"He didn't know that at all," Josephine Duah told the paper. "He just was running. ... He thought somebody was chasing him and he hopped some fences and he went in the house. ... I'm wondering if, mentally, he was relieved if he saw police."
She told The Times her son had been struggling with drug addiction and possibly suffered from hallucinations. She said her son told her he was running because somebody was "trying to shoot him."
In 2015, Hunter was charged with attempted murder, kidnapping and assault and battery for allegedly joining three other people in attacking a man in Massachusetts. According to the Norfolk District Attorney's Office, the assailants attacked the victim with a hammer and a snow brush. Police found the victim unconscious and he was taken to a Boston hospital and survived his injuries.
Hunter and three other suspects were found in a van with a hammer, a shoe believed to belong to the victim, the victim's pants and some blood in the van's door area, according to the Norfolk District Attorney's Office.
According to court records, Hunter was convicted and sentenced to seven years in prison.
Speaking to The Times, Duah insisted her son was innocent in that case, saying he was present at the time but did not take part in the assault.
Bass, speaking to reporters during a budget briefing Monday morning, thanked police for their quick response.
"I just want to thank the Los Angeles Police Department again for responding to the incident at the Getty House yesterday," Bass said. "Investigations are ongoing, so I won't have any further comment at this moment. But again, I want to thank the Los Angeles Police Department for their work."