Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman issued a warning to potential criminals looking to target residents as wildfires devastate the community.
“If you think for a moment that you can take advantage of this right now or over the next weeks, months or even years, you are wrong,” he said while looking straight into the camera during the interview on Wednesday on ABC 7.
“If you go ahead and you want to loot, if you want to steal, if you want to engage in scams on vulnerable people who have just lost their house and their businesses, we’re going to arrest you, we’re going to prosecute you and you will absolutely be punished,” he stated:
His office shared the clip on Instagram, adding that “We will NOT tolerate criminal behavior that further harms our community.”
The wildfires that broke out on Tuesday and Wednesday are spreading due to extremely high winds, Breitbart News reported on Thursday.
As a result, there has been massive destruction of homes and tens of thousands of people have been displaced in the horrific disaster.
Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said Wednesday that two alleged looters had been arrested after being located in evacuation zones, according to Fox 11.
Luna echoed Hochman’s warnings to people considering coming to the area to target residents who have already lost so much in the fires.
“If you are thinking of coming into any of these areas to steal from our residents, you’re going to get caught, you’re going to be arrested, and you’re going to be prosecuted. Don’t do that! Stay out of these areas. It’s only for emergency workers and people who live there,” he stated.
Neighbors who lost their homes shared their sadness and grief with CBS Mornings.
“Our elected officials are our guardians, and they have massively failed us,” one woman told the outlet:
Hochman took office in December and replaced George Soros-backed left-wing radical George Gascón, according to Breitbart News.
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