By Gene Williams
Lookout Staff

January 18, 2011 -- A recent string of burglaries has Sunset Park residents on the defensive.

In the latest incident, police were called around 4:30 a.m. Sunday to the 2300 block of 21st Street where they confronted three suspects apparently trying to steal from a garage.

A foot chase followed in which police managed to catch 2 of the suspects. The third suspect was arrested about two hours later, found hiding in the area.

No word on who the suspects are or what they were after.

Earlier in the week, around 11 p.m. Wednesday, January 12, two suspected burglars were confronted by a neighbor after they were seen opening a sliding door to an apartment on the 2100 block of Ocean Park Boulevard.

The suspects in this incident are described as male Hispanics in their mid 20s wearing dark clothing. No word on any arrests.

Sometime earlier that same evening, between 4 and 8 p.m., a residence on the 2700 block of 21st Street was burgled.

The thieves, who were not seen, apparently got in through an open window. No word on what was stolen.

It is not yet clear whether any of the three recent incidents are related.

Santa Monica Police urge residents to keep their doors and windows locked when not at home. “The criminals are out there and we don’t want to provide them the opportunity for victimizing another resident,” Neighborhood Resource Officer Artis Williams wrote in an email to residents.

Anyone seeing suspicious activity should immediately call the Santa Monica Police at 310-458-8491.