Surveillance video captured a burglary crew brazenly using an electric saw while attempting to smash their way into a pharmacy in Los Feliz.

Early Wednesday morning, three suspects approached R&D Pharmacy located on Franklin Avenue at around 4 a.m.

They were seen using an electric saw and a crowbar to shatter the store’s glass entrance before sawing into the metal gate behind it.

The pharmacy’s owner, Roselyn Roque, said this was the second time her pharmacy had been targeted in just three weeks. 

Despite diligently locking up her store every night and protecting it with steel gates, an alarm system, motion detectors, chains and padlocks, she said the suspects don’t appear to be deterred from returning.

As a pharmacist, Roque said she unfortunately also knows what the thieves are after.

“Opiates and stimulants,” she said.”They have really high value on the streets.”

Her pharmacy has been targeted a total of three times over the past two years. Roque believes the suspects are the same people who have attempted to burglarize the shop in the past. 

During Wednesday’s incident, the suspects’ getaway car was captured clearly on security cameras.

“There’s three of them again, but they’re using two different cars,” Roque said. “We were able to identify the plate. They’re backing up with the plates on camera. Maybe they don’t care about [being caught] anymore.”

In all three attempted burglaries, however, the suspects were scared away by blaring security alarms and fled before stealing anything inside.

Roque is very worried about her safety while operating the store.

“I’m scared that they might come back and I’m here,” she said.

Despite no merchandise being lost, Roque said the burglary crew still managed to leave a trail of destruction behind including breaking her security gate and front windows, which will be expensive to replace.

“I’m kind of on my own,” she said. “I’ll have to do the best I can.”

Roque said she remains concerned because the suspects are still at large. She said Los Angeles police asked whether she would be pressing charges if the suspects were caught.

“I said, ‘Of course,’” Roque recalled. “If I can help another small business like mine to not go through something like this, then I’m going to do my part and keep [the suspects] off the streets.”

Anyone with information on the attempted burglary can call the LAPD at 1-877-527-3247.

The city of Pomona is launching a universal income pilot program that will give money to hundreds of residents.

Through a lottery, the Pomona Household Universal Grant Program (HUG) will choose 600 eligible residents and assign them to two groups — a paid group and a control group.

The paid group includes 250 residents who will receive a monthly payment of $500 for 18 months.

The remaining 350 residents are part of the control group and will receive $20 monthly payments for 18 months.

Eligibility requirements include:

• Must be a resident of Pomona at the time of application
• Must be 18 or older at the time of application
• Must be the parent or legal guardian of a child under 4 years old at the time of application
• Must meet at least one of the four ARPA qualifiers – full list is provided under the “Detailed Eligibility Requirements” on city website
• Agree to consent to a research study conducted by UCLA

The universal income program will include a research study conducted by the University of California, Los Angeles to analyze how income-based grants will impact program participants. The research study is sponsored by the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation.

All program participants can also participate in surveys from UCLA. Each completed survey will include a $50 bonus payment.

Select participants will be offered free benefits counseling, financial coaching, parenting skills, and career counseling through Los Angeles County services.

Online applications are open from June 17 through July 8 at 11 p.m. PST.

A lottery to select winners will be held on July 10. If selected, the first payments are scheduled to be disbursed through a reloadable debit card on Aug. 26

Residents who may need help applying for the income program can attend an in-person event at the Pomona Public Library on June 25 from 2 p.m. – 7 p.m.

The application for the Pomona Household Universal Grant Program can be found here.

California is making an effort to return more than 2,800 acres of ancestral homeland to the Shasta Indian Nation in the northwestern end of the state, the governor’s office said in a statement on Tuesday.

The land transfer is part of the state’s efforts to reconcile with Native communities that have suffered from centuries of discrimination and exploitation.

The total 2,820 acres are part of land associated with the removal of several dams along the Klamath River, which for decades interrupted migrating salmon and many traditions of Native populations who relied on the same waters.

The Shasta people lived for centuries in the area that is now northern California and southern Oregon.

“Having access to our ceremonial sites, including the site of our First Salmon Ceremony, is critical to the spiritual and emotional health of our people. The ceremony has not taken place since the lands were taken by eminent domain for the construction of Copco dam over 100 years ago. This is transformative and the beginning of restorative justice for our people,” Shasta Indian Nation Chairperson Janice Crowe said in a statement provided by the governor’s office.

In recent years, Native American tribes have been reclaiming ancestral lands either by purchasing them or through agreements with local, state and federal governments.

In March of this year, the Yurok in Northern California became the first Native Tribe to manage tribal land with the National Park Service.

In 2019, California formed the Truth and Healing Council, a body made up of officials from the state government and Native tribes, that collaborates on various programs and initiatives.