Suspect in Mayor Bass break-in previously convicted of violent assault

The man accused of smashing through a window and breaking into the home of Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass on Sunday morning was previously charged with kidnapping and attempted murder in Massachusetts, court records show.

Ephraim Hunter, 29, allegedly smashed through a window at the Getty House in Windsor Park around 6:40 a.m. while Bass and several of her relatives were home Sunday morning, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. Hunter was arrested without incident, according to police, who said no one was hurt and nothing was stolen.

The 29-year-old L.A. resident was booked on suspicion of burglary Sunday afternoon, police said. A case has yet to be presented to the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office and the matter is being investigated by the LAPD’s elite Robbery-Homicide Division.

Exterior view of the Getty House in Los Angeles.

(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)

Investigators have not discussed a motive in the break-in, but two law enforcement sources not authorized to discuss the open case with the media said Hunter made it to the second floor of the home, causing Bass to hide in a safe area designed to protect against intruders, akin to a panic room.

Detectives believe Hunter targeted the mayor’s residence and are expected to present evidence to prosecutors of crimes beyond a simple burglary, the sources said.

A review of court records shows Hunter is originally from Massachusetts, where he’d previously been convicted of a violent crime.

In 2015, prosecutors in Norfolk County, Mass., alleged Hunter was one of four people who used a hammer and a snow brush to beat a man bloody inside a van in Millis, Mass., about 30 miles outside of Boston, according to a news release. The victim in that case was left unconscious and was rushed by helicopter to a Boston hospital.

Hunter was convicted of assault with a deadly weapon and served seven years in state prison, records show. The man convicted in that case has the same date of birth as the man arrested by LAPD on Sunday.

Bass — who is expected to speak to the media on Monday morning about the city budget — released a brief statement Sunday thanking police for their intervention.

“This morning at about 6:40 a.m., an intruder broke into Getty House through a window. Mayor Bass and her family were not injured and are safe,” Zach Seidl, deputy mayor of communications, said in a statement. “The Mayor is grateful to LAPD for responding and arresting the suspect.”

One LAPD source, not authorized to speak publicly about the case, said a 24-hour security operation is now in place at Getty House, with police maintaining a visible presence in the area.