It’s like something out of Scooby-Doo.
On May 2, police arrested a man who is suspected in at least 30 masked burglaries in the Los Angeles area, according to KTTV-TV. Rockim Prowell of Ingelwood, 30, was stopped in Beverly Hills on a traffic violation and later charged with two counts each of burglary and grand theft as well as one count of vandalism.
Prowell had been caught on video during other robberies outside of Beverly Hills and police were curious why he always had a certain expression.
“It was odd this burglar’s mouth was always open when seen on surveillance video,” the Los Angeles Police Department said in a now-deleted tweet. “When he was caught breaking into another home we discovered why.”
He wasn’t caught breaking into a home, which is why one suspects the tweet was deleted. But never mind, since the reason people are talking about Prowell doesn’t necessarily have to do with how he was caught.
Here’s Prowell caught on surveillance video during his alleged burglary spree:
Police stopped the suspect, identified as Rockim Prowell, 30, of Inglewood, on Sunday and found items, including a face mask, in the vehicle he was driving that linked him to a string of burglaries, according to the @BeverlyHillsPD. https://t.co/2qFTguj8lM
— Hey SoCal News (@Hey_SoCal) May 8, 2021
There’s a little clue there as to why we’re still talking about Mr. Prowell, because here are his mug shots:
Rockim Prowell, 30, of Inglewood, is believed to be responsible for numerous residential burglaries throughout Southern California, according to Beverly Hills police https://t.co/hxqpXgMAa2
— KTLA (@KTLA) May 7, 2021
Rockim Prowell wore a mask & wig to imitate a white man while allegedly committing dozens of burglaries throughout L.A. He was arrested by Beverly Hills police. The vehicle he was driving during arrest was also stolen pic.twitter.com/AMw1NTaQSz
— Dr. Carlos – Forensic Psychology Consultant (@insidethebadge) May 9, 2021
You can almost see the Scooby-Doo gang at the unmasking.
“Zoinks! It’s Old Man Prowell!” Shaggy would say.
“And I would have gotten away with it, too, if it weren’t for you meddling kids.”
Actually, he might have gotten away with it if he wasn’t driving in a vehicle with stolen license plates or wasn’t in a vehicle that had items that connected him to other burglaries — including that face mask.
According to a news release from the Beverly Hills Police Department, they’d responded to a burglary on the 1900 block of Loma Vista Drive on April 20. After investigating, they determined the burglar had also been responsible for a July 20, 2020, burglary elsewhere in the city.
Surveillance video implicated the same suspect in both crimes; the car he was driving was also caught on video. He’d stolen flat-screen televisions in both heists.
Furthermore, a search of Prowell’s home in Inglewood yielded stolen items that connected him to other burglaries.
In addition, the LAPD announced that he was connected to several burglaries in their Pacific Division. The Beverly Hills Police Department said in their news release that they “believe that the suspect is responsible for numerous residential burglaries within the Southern California area.”
A black man wearing a white mask should have been a brilliant strategy for thefts, particularly if they’re happening in an area where there’s a high number of surveillance cameras. Unfortunately, the genius in this plan is rather attenuated when that individual also uses stolen plates on their car at the same time. Some brilliance, apparently, is just incidental.
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