A 14-year-old boy was being held on suspicion of burglarizing a home in Encino after he was shot and wounded by the homeowner during an early-morning confrontation not far from where a couple was murdered earlier this month during a burglary.
The teen, whose name isn’t public due to his age, was detained by police after his mother reported he’d been wounded on July 17 in a drive-by shooting in South L.A., according to law enforcement records.
Detectives say officers were suspicious of the story and found a stolen car nearby with blood inside that matched the description of the getaway car from the Encino home-invasion, which had happened less than an hour earlier.
According to a preliminary crime report, the Encino homeowner was awakened around 5:10 a.m. to the sound of something breaking downstairs from his bedroom, moved his family into a safe room, and armed himself with a handgun.
The homeowner shouted a warning, then fired two shots when he saw a figure wearing dark clothes advance upstairs, holding what he described as a Samurai sword.
Timeline in court papers suggests the “American Idol” exec and her husband were shot minutes after police had been outside their home searching for a prowler. Investigative Reporter Eric Leonard reports exclusively on the NBC4 News at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, July 23, 2025.
Security video then showed the intruder fleeing in a black Volkswagen sedan with several other individuals inside.
The object the homeowner said was a sword turned out to be a crowbar, law enforcement officials told NBCLA.
On Monday night, more than 200 Encino residents attended a community meeting with police and the District Attorney to discuss their concerns about recent burglaries, and the murders of American Idol music supervisor Robin Kaye and her husband Thomas Deluca.
They were found dead on July 14 inside their home on White Oak Avenue. Detectives said they believe they were shot to death during a burglary on July 10.
The LAPD said the number of burglaries throughout the City and in the West San Fernando Valley have declined in recent years, and data from the last two months show reductions in the number of break-ins this year compared to the months prior.