Criminals Increasingly Bold in Recent String of Burglaries in Malibu
It seems as if burglaries are on the rise in Malibu while the crimes are becoming increasingly bold. Over the past few weeks, residents have been posting on the community message board website “Nextdoor” about recent burglaries from people’s homes, cars, and properties. Most notably, right here on Point Dume between fifteen and twenty surfboards along with wetsuits and skateboards were taken in the early morning hours from the home of Beastie Boys founding member, Mike D. This burglary occurred on Friday, August 5th and is currently under police investigation.
Four of the boards stolen on Point Dume.
No arrests have been made however word is getting around about the stolen boards not just in Malibu, but in the entire surfing community. Since the boards were taken, the investigation efforts have received some big shoutouts including an Instagram post from Kelly Slater, an article on Surfline, an article on TMZ, as well as many miscellaneous social media posts from community members and friends of the family. Kelly Slater had this to say on his Instagram post:
“Please keep a lookout around LA/Malibu area (or anywhere up and down the coast by now) and send me or anyone tagged here a DM if you have any info on these boards. Someone broke into my friend’s house near Point Dume and stole around 20 boards probably knowing he was out of town. One time my boards got stolen in LA and @surfline was cool enough to feature it on the homepage and they were spotted within 12 hours. Nobody got arrested or in trouble, just wanted the boards back. #IHateThieves but I like these boards. In fact, I’d be happy to buy a couple back off whoever did it on the side😉. They’re pretty cool.”
Taking Slater’s lead, Surfline was cool enough to post their own article about Mike D’s stolen boards. Hopefully with all the press this incident has received the boards will be returned to their rightful owner!
This latest burglary is just one of many that have have taken place over the last few in months in Malibu. Back in December, there were a string of burglaries that targeted unlocked parked cars in driveways in the Point Dume community as well as several homes on the east end of PCH. In the past two or three weeks, it seems that these burglaries are on the rise and the crimes are becoming increasingly bold. Other than the stolen 20 surfboards, there have been incidents reported of stolen roof cargo from a vehicle in broad daylight, multiple stand up paddle boards stolen from a locked trailer and mail theft, just to name a few. Victims of these crimes had this to say on “Nextdoor”:
“My daughter’s roof cargo basket on her black Jeep Liberty got stolen apparently just this morning in broad daylight, in front of Drill/Postal Annex area of the Trancas Mart parking lot – we have our suspicions but do not know for a fact who might have taken it – please be on the lookout for one that is about 3′ x 4′ and about 6″ deep, thanks.”
“We have been experiencing repeated mail theft in our neighborhood. My mailbox and my neighbors was most recently broken into the week before last on Wednesday July 27th. I know our community would like to be in the loop with regard to progress being made to bring the criminals to justice…I know my neighbor actually got the license plate number of a car who was robbing the neighborhood about a month ago. I have also reached out to the Malibu Times and they are going to write an article about the audacity of these criminals. They have been stealing and cashing checks and also using credit card offers to steal identity.”
Boards stolen from the Radfish trailer.“On Sunday night someone broke into the Radfish Malibu trailer at Corral Cyn and PCH.. They stole 9 Stand up paddle boards. All are Radfish Malibu SUPs 2 are Badfish surf SUP…I can easily identify all the boards.. Please tell all your friends to look for any Radfish Malibu stand up paddle boards that are for sale from any person other than me.. I will give a reward to anyone who can find them. 2 are large blue soft tops, 1 pink soft top, 1 Radfish inflatable, 1 white epoxy, 3 carbon fiber Kevlar SUPs.. Please share with your friends and call me. Tony Radfish Malibu 310 433 1767”
Because of the recent uptake in crime and the boldness of said crimes, take extra care to ensure that your loved ones, properties, and belongings are safe. Make sure to report any suspicious activity that you may observe in your neighborhood as well as any crimes that are committed. For emergencies always dial 911, however if you have a routine call for service you can contact the Lost Hills Sheriff’s Department at (818) 878-1808. We also believe it may be a good idea to join your neighborhood “Nextdoor” page on nextdoor.com. This is a good platform for neighbors to communicate about happenings in the immediate community.
