A California father fought off a suspected robber from his backyard Thursday after he allegedly stole thousands of dollars in equipment, according to a surveillance camera video.
The thief allegedly stole about $ 25,000 of studio recording equipment before the victim, Daniel Lobell, chased him away, according to a GoFundMe post created by Lobell. The victim is a comedian and creator of the “Modern Day Philosophers” podcast. Surveillance video shows the masked thief stealing bags of equipment and getting away, but several hours later the robber returned to wipe down his fingerprints, KTLA reported.
“I said to him, ‘I’m going to kill you,’ and I went after him,” Lobell told KTLA. I tried to grab the trampoline out of the play thing, to use it as a weapon, but I couldn’t get it out.” (RELATED: Police Arrest Suspect After Series Of Stabbings Terrorized College Town)
Hi Mayor @KarenBassLA, I was on four news channels, @KTLA, @FOXLA, @NBCLA, and @kcalnews talking about how I got robbed and chased off the guy who did it. Now I’d like to speak to you about how you’re going to fix LA.Will you please come and do a podcast w/me on The Podcast Bus pic.twitter.com/KyQbtNEbhL
— Daniel Lobell (@DanielLobell) May 10, 2023
“Something innate and animal inside me that’s in my DNA as a father kicked in,” Lobell told Fox. “My backdoor is open and my little girls are in there. If one of us is going back in there, it’s not going to be that guy.”
Lobell hopes the police will catch the robber, so his family can feel safe again. He filed a police report and gave authorities the surveillance footage, reported KTLA.
“The thief, aside from making me feel terified and violated as this took place on the premisies of where I live with my family and little kids, has taken away my means of livilihood,” wrote Lobell in the fundraising post.
Break-ins have increased by 15.4% compared to 2021 in Los Angeles. Lobell hopes his incident will raise awareness about the homeless encampment near his house, Fox reported.
Los Angeles Police Department and Mayor Karen Bass, did not immediately respond to Daily Caller’s request for comment.