A community is concerned after an armed suspect was seen prowling a West Hills neighborhood and peering into windows.

Residents reported seeing the man peering into home windows as he wandered around a neighborhood near Stagg Street and Valley Circle Boulevard on Thursday night.

“I looked out the window and saw a man trying to break into my neighbor’s house,” said Brandon Taylor, a resident. “I saw him looking into windows.”

At times, the man peered into the backyard gates of several homes while continuing to stroll around. That’s when Taylor decided to observe the suspect and record the man on his cell phone.

“I followed him in my car and kept a safe distance,” Taylor said. “I watched him hop a fence into someone’s property so I called 911 at that time. I was on hold for about 27 minutes. They transferred me to a non-emergency [line].”

Eventually, Taylor decided to go home. Later that night, police received reports of the suspect prowling the same neighborhood at around 8:35 p.m.

“My husband always checks the camera before he goes to sleep and he noticed [the suspect],” said Jaymie Nevis, the owner of a business located near Platt Avenue and Vanowen Street.

Her husband checked the store’s security cameras at around 10:43 p.m. and spotted the suspect walking around while pointing what appeared to be a handgun.

“Oh, it’s absolutely a gun,” Nevis said. “You can see him working with it and he’s pointing it outward.”

The woman shared the alarming video with neighbors in the area, prompting many to remain cautious and on the lookout.

“It’s scary that it could be people coming around this close with a gun, walking around, prowling and looking for a place to get in,” said a concerned neighbor.

“We have a patrol here,” said another neighbor. “We have a homeowners association. We have received letters telling us to be on the lookout for anything suspicious.”

Los Angeles police said the suspect is described as a Hispanic man who was last seen wearing a blue shirt and dark-colored shorts.

“When you see a guy with a gun, that’s very disconcerting and it steps it up a level,” Nevis said. “He’s not just peeking over your fence. He’s now an armed individual.”

The suspect remains at large. Anyone with information on the case can call LAPD at 1-877-527-3247. 

An incarcerated woman who walked away from a rehabilitation program in Los Angeles was apprehended by authorities Friday afternoon, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

Erica N. Ybarra, 37, was serving her sentence at the L.A. County Female Community Reentry Program when she removed her ankle monitor and left the facility without permission Thursday afternoon.

CDCR staff searched the buildings and grounds, but Ybarra was nowhere to be found. Her ankle monitor was discovered near the facility. 

Authorities put out an alert that she had walked away from the reentry program, including physical descriptions and her most recent CDCR photograph.

On Friday, it was announced that Ybarra was located in El Monte around 3:45 p.m.

She was taken into custody without incident and transported to the California Institution for Women. Her case, according to officials, will now be referred to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office for possible escape charges.

The Female Community Reentry Program allows eligible offenders committed to state prison to serve the end of their sentences in the reentry center to ease their transition from custody to the community. 

She had been at the facility for less than a month, having arrived there to serve part of a two-year sentence for second-degree robbery.

According to CDCR, 99% of all walkaways from adult institutions have been successfully recaptured since 1977.

Police in Apple Valley say the victim of a May assault is now a suspect in a domestic violence case that took place just before he was attacked.

Authorities responded to a reported assault in-progress in the 21000 block of Outer Highway 18 South on Tuesday, May 14. When deputies arrived, they found the victim, identified as Alphonso Deshawn Lee Faulks, suffering from multiple injuries.

Faulks was treated at a trauma center before being released.

The suspect in that alleged assault, Frankie Devaughn Lucas Jr., fled the scene but was located on May 22 and arrested. He was later released on bail.

Further investigations into the incident revealed that Lucas allegedly assaulted Faulks after Faulks had committed an act of domestic violence against a woman, police said.

Police said that domestic violence incident began at Thunderbird Park around 8:30 p.m on May 13, the night before Lucas allegedly assaulted Lucas. The act of domestic violence lasted throughout the night and occurred in multiple locations.

Authorities arrested Faulks on Monday and later charged with a felony for corporal injury to spouse or cohabitant and a misdemeanor for battery on a spouse or cohabitant. He’s being held on $100,000 bail.

There was no word on whether Lucas had been cleared of criminal wrongdoing.