Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman warned Monday that he would “come after” looters taking advantage of wildfires and “throw the entire book” at them.
Hochman defeated George Gascon, who was heavily backed by left-wing billionaire George Soros, in November by a wide margin after campaigning against Gascon’s lenient policies on crime. Hochman told “America’s Newsroom” co-hosts Dana Perino and Bill Hemmer he had 750 “fired up” prosecutors ready to address people who “rip off” victims of the wildfire.
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“I’m one of the people who has been evacuated. My sister lost her house in Pacific Palisades — and what we’ll do is we’ll first deal with people who are looting, people who are taking advantage of these crimes right now. Then we begin the recovery effort,” Hochman said. “And sadly, we’re going to have people who want to take advantage of the recovery money coming in from insurance or government benefits.”
“We’re sending the same unmistakably clear message to them, that if they want to rip off people who have suffered these type of tragedies, we will come after you,” Hochman continued. “We will throw the entire book at you. So please do not commit these crimes. Our goal is to deter them in the first place, thus saving a whole lot of victims in the process.”
The area around Los Angeles has been hit with multiple wildfires that rapidly spread through Pasadena and other localities, destroying hundreds of buildings and leaving at least 24 people dead. Hochman assured Perino he had plenty of resources to address looters and other criminals.
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“We have over 750 deputy district attorneys, some of the finest lawyers or prosecutors in the nation. They are motivated and — and inspired to go ahead and help people, they always have been,” Hochman said. “They haven’t had the opportunity… but they are all fired up right now to go help the residents of L.A. County get through this tragedy and make sure that the criminals who want to take advantage of them meet full justice in the system.”
At least 20 people have been arrested on charges related to looting in the wake of the wildfires, according to the Los Angeles Times. One of those taken into custody allegedly posed as a firefighter, the New York Post reported.
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First published by the Daily Caller News Foundation.