Heart WeHo Nightclub posted a video on their official Instagram account that shows two individuals being arrested for alleged pickpocketing inside the nightclub last night, Friday, February 17, 2023. “More pickpockets arrested last night!” Reads the post. “If you come to @heartweho or @roccosweho and try to steal from our guests, we will catch you and you will be arrested!”
The video shows a male and female in custody 8911 Santa Monica Boulevard. According to the short footage, a man who was visiting from New York had his phone stolen by one of the individuals. We also see a group of people standing outside waiting to have their phones returned to them.
“He was here visiting from New York and his phone was stolen from his back pocket by the same people who steal cell phones every single time,” says the person behind the video. “The duo right here was once again detained by our security. Hopefully we won’t be seeing them back in two weeks. Thank you to the sheriff’s department and code compliance who are always first to show up. All these people are waiting for their stolen phones. I’m sure they did it in multiple venues across the city. They are stealing from our community–our queer community who come here for a safe space and have their phone stolen. We will catch you and you will be arrested.”
Two individuals were arrested last night for allegedly pickpocketing cellphones at Heart WeHo.
https://t.co/6hC8p9x5CZ #wehotimes #weho #wehocity @WeHoCity @WHDLASD pic.twitter.com/Pk5sIif9CM— WEHO TIMES (@WEHO_TIMES) February 19, 2023
Two individuals–both female–were arrested for phone thefts at Rocco’s WeHo located across the street from Heart WeHo. The incident occurred at roughly 1:30am on Sunday morning. A Sheriff Deputy was not able to provide more information during the ongoing investigation.
Rocco’s WeHo describes the phone thefts via their official Instagram @roccosweho:
“Last night one of our dancers observed 2 people who appeared to be pickpocketing cell phones. He jumped off the gogo box, followed them and motioned for our security to detain them. The 2 suspects were arrested, and multiple phones were recovered and returned to our valued guests. We are all in this together.
Thanks to our security team for detaining the suspects and for @lasdwesthollywoodstation for responding immediately.
@wehocity is a place for fun not for crime.”
Two individuals, one male, and one female, were arrested at The Abbey Food and Bar that same month on Saturday, December 3, 2022, during the evening nightlife hours.
Another video posted on social media in December received national attention when a person alleged that a crew of theives was targeting people in West Hollywood and stealing phones and wallets. The video, which originated from the Instagram account @francofriday, states the same people, five males and two females of Hispanic descent stand on the corner of Santa Monica and San Vicente and pickpocket unsuspecting people, taking cell phones and wallets. “On that corner they pickpocket you. They steal your cellphones, while you’re listening to the guy playing music or waiting to cross the street right in that area,” he said in the video which is getting local news attention. “They grab your cellphones and they put them in a bag. They grab your IDs and your wallet, and they put it in the trash can. Once they put the phones in the trash, one of the girls takes the bag, walks past Revolver and walks to a car and puts in the back seat of a car…”
He said the females grab a key under the hood of the car and put the bags in the back seat. He says he could see the bag full of phones and tried to take a photo.
Hey @WeHoCity @WHDLASD
This is happening every single night in West Hollywood and you are doing NOTHING to stop it.Please share this video and follow Francofriday on Instagram. He is documenting the gangs that are stealing your phones and wallets in Weho#weho #westhollywood pic.twitter.com/ewVqIQu8rD
— Loving WeHo 💖🏳️🌈🌴 (@lovingweho) December 6, 2022
It is not yet known if the male and female arrested for pickpocketing last night are part of a larger crew of thieves.
If you see something, say something. Anonymous tips on alleged phone thefts can be called into Crimestoppers at (800) 222-TIPS (8477), or by texting 274637 (C-R-I-M-E-S on most keypads) with a cell phone. If you see something, say something. Anyone with information can also drop a tip at https://www.lacrimestoppers.org.
Second time offenders should have their hands chopped off like they do in other countries.
Are there names yet? There has to be a police report. Let’s ID and profile them with pictures so everyone knows who they are.
Never place your phone or wallet in your back pocket when visiting over-crowed bars and night clubs. That message should follow every one of these stories.
Great to see…but nothing will happen to them. They’ll be out tonight to do it at another club.
Exactly. What’s the use in catching these thieves to “arrest” them if they’ll be back out that same night to repeat offend? Keep them in the brink overnight (at least). What’s the fee for this crime? Is there one? It’s California after all. Uh hem, “no bail bond.” If we resumed charging criminals for their behavior instead of rewarding it, we’d make a pretty penny. Oh, and after these people are caught, take clear photos of them and post them at the entrance of all the clubs and bars. That might at least deter their wanton ways.