A man accused of breaking into a Beverly Grove home, pistol-whipping a 71-year-old woman inside and making off with a cache of high-end jewelry was charged Friday with felony counts of residential robbery and residential burglary with a person present.
The charges against Dillon Klincke, 31, include allegations of inflicting great bodily injury, personal use of a firearm and committing a crime against someone aged 65 or older, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
He is set to be arraigned Monday in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
According to the LAPD, a lone suspect wearing a Halloween-type mask entered the woman’s home in the 6600 block of West Fifth Street about 2:25 p.m. Wednesday.
“Once inside the location, the suspect pistol-whipped the victim and demanded access to a safe that contained a large amount of expensive jewelry,” police said in a statement.
“The suspect gained access to the safe, removed the jewelry and fled the location with the victim’s property,” police said. “The victim sustained bruises and lacerations as a result of being struck by the suspect. She was treated by Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics and released at scene.”
Investigators at the scene told reporters the items taken from the home included some high-end watches, possibly Rolexes, with the pilfered merchandise valued in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Klincke was arrested Wednesday night in the 1200 block of Meadowbrook Avenue. It was unclear if the stolen merchandise was recovered.
He was being held on $175,000 bail.
Fox11 reported that the woman owns a business that involves collecting jewelry, and investigators were looking into the possibility she was targeted by someone who knew she had expensive merchandise in her home.
