LOS ANGELES, CA – Los Angeles police are searching for a group of suspects who allegedly ransacked an AutoZone in South Los Angeles early Monday after a street takeover in the area, marking the latest in a series of break-ins targeting auto parts stores across the region.
The burglary was reported around 5:30 a.m. on Aug. 17 near East Century Boulevard and South Central Avenue, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
Authorities said a group entered the store and ransacked the business after an alleged street takeover nearby.
Police have not released an estimate of how many people entered the AutoZone, what merchandise was taken or the value of the loss.
No arrests have been announced.
Investigators also have not released descriptions of the suspects or vehicles believed to have been involved.
The latest incident comes against a backdrop of previous AutoZone burglaries linked to street takeovers in South Los Angeles.
In one major case from June 2024, the LAPD said approximately 50 to 75 people burglarized an AutoZone on West Century Boulevard while hundreds of people participated in a street takeover at Century Boulevard and Hoover Street.
Police estimated the merchandise loss in that burglary at about $67,000.
One suspect was arrested shortly after that incident following a vehicle pursuit, and officers recovered about $1,200 in merchandise from the vehicle, LAPD said.
Investigators later identified additional suspects.
In November 2024, the department’s Organized Retail Crime Task Force and Street Racing Task Force served search warrants and arrested two men in connection with the same Century Boulevard flash burglary and takeover.
Police said those investigations were aimed not only at people accused of stealing merchandise but also at participants in illegal street takeovers that can provide cover for large groups to overwhelm businesses.
The latest South Los Angeles burglary has not been publicly tied to the suspects or cases from 2024.
Authorities have also not confirmed a connection between Monday’s break-in and two recent AutoZone burglaries reported earlier this month in East Los Angeles.
Those cases remain under investigation.
The LAPD has previously described large-group retail burglaries as part of a broader organized retail crime problem affecting businesses throughout Los Angeles and neighboring cities.
The department’s Organized Retail Crime Task Force investigates large-scale retail theft involving organized groups and fencing operations that resell stolen merchandise.
The task force was created after law enforcement agencies across the region reported a rise in so-called flash-mob or flash-robbery incidents involving groups entering stores together and stealing merchandise within minutes.
LAPD said when it established the regional task force in 2023 that multiple jurisdictions were seeing coordinated retail crimes in which suspects targeted businesses in Los Angeles and surrounding cities. The department said some investigations had already revealed links between crimes committed in separate communities.
Police have not publicly said whether the Organized Retail Crime Task Force has assumed responsibility for the new South Los Angeles AutoZone investigation.
Street takeover enforcement is handled through separate specialized LAPD resources.
The department’s Street Racing Task Force is assigned to illegal racing, sideshows and street takeovers throughout Los Angeles.
In a January 2024 operation, officers disrupted five street takeovers in areas served by 77th, Southeast and neighboring divisions, making 24 misdemeanor arrests, issuing spectator citations and impounding 14 vehicles.
That enforcement history is relevant because several prior retail burglaries have occurred during or immediately after takeover gatherings.
In the 2024 Century Boulevard AutoZone case, LAPD said the store was burglarized at roughly the same time that hundreds of participants blocked the nearby intersection and performed donuts and burnouts.
Investigators later said the suspects appeared to be associated with street takeover groups.
Whether a similar pattern occurred Monday at East Century Boulevard and South Central Avenue remains under investigation.
Police have not released details about the alleged takeover preceding the latest burglary, including the approximate crowd size, how long it lasted or whether officers made any arrests related to reckless driving or spectator activity.
Authorities also have not said whether security cameras at the AutoZone captured identifiable suspects.
Video evidence could be important if investigators attempt to compare clothing, vehicles or other identifying characteristics with footage from the takeover.
Retail burglaries involving large groups can generate multiple potential criminal cases because investigators must determine which individuals entered a business, which took property, who damaged the premises and whether others helped coordinate transportation or disposal of stolen goods.
California law also contains a specific organized retail theft statute covering coordinated activity involving stolen merchandise, although what charges, if any, apply depends on the evidence in an individual case.
No charges have been announced in connection with Monday’s South Los Angeles incident.
Authorities have also not disclosed whether any stolen merchandise has been recovered.
The LAPD has said its organized retail crime investigators work with other Southern California police departments and prosecutors when cases cross jurisdictional boundaries.
In one previous investigation, the task force traced stolen merchandise from multiple retail thefts to a suspected fencing operation and worked with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department after suspects involved in East Los Angeles crimes were linked to a business in Inglewood.
There is no public indication that Monday’s AutoZone burglary is connected to that investigation.
For now, detectives are treating the South Los Angeles break-in as an active case.
Anyone with information about organized retail crime can contact the LAPD’s Organized Retail Crime Task Force through the Commercial Crimes Division.
LAPD also directs tips outside regular business hours to 1-877-LAPD-24-7 (1-877-527-3247).
No suspects have been publicly identified.
The investigation remains ongoing.
