Residents of a Playa del Rey condominium complex are outraged after burglars ransacked their building while it was being fumigated for termites.

The break-ins occurred at the Del Rey Plaza on Tuscany Avenue from Dec. 11-13 during the decontamination period, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

All residents were evacuated and the property was tented for the fumigation process. 

The homeowners association promised to provide 24-hour security to patrol the grounds while they were away, yet somehow, burglars were able to ransack 23 units out of a total of 39 in the building, escaping with cash, jewelry and other valuables while leaving the units trashed and vandalized.

Many victims, including Carol Fontaine, the building’s HOA president, were targeted by the professional criminals. 

Security cameras captured one of the break-ins as an intruder wearing a gas mask opened the front door and began casually searching for valuables.

Fontaine returned to her unit on Friday and found her front door smashed in while her bedroom and closets were completely trashed with all her belongings thrown onto the floor.

“It’s quite devastating for a lot of us,” Fontaine told KTLA’s Chris Wolfe. “A 24-7 security was ordered and patrolling outside and then I got a call from the termite company saying we’ve had break-ins. All floors were hit.”

Fontaine said thieves escaped with many of her valuables including jewelry and ammunition.

“During the [fumigation] process, we had several people that reported lights on inside the building even though we had been told to turn all of our lights off,” said Loren Brown, a resident. “That was the first clue. But we figured we had 24-hour security guards, things were being watched and it’s all okay.”

Many residents are questioning how the burglars could gain access to the building if security was reportedly patrolling.

“We have 23 doors that have been smashed. We’ve got places that have been looted like you have no idea,” Brown said. “Cash is gone, guns are gone. The people who were in here knew what they were doing. They were wearing respirators. This does not feel like it’s an organic thing. This is somehow, to me, an inside job.”

Victimized residents are working closely with law enforcement as investigators gather evidence and leads on the suspects.

For those who may be fumigating their home, the victims said they strongly suggest taking all valuables either with them or housing them in a safe location away from the vacant home. 

Anyone with information on the break-ins is asked to call the LAPD at 1-877-527-3247.

Ski season is officially underway at Big Bear Mountain Resort after the third and final mountain opened to skiers and snowboarders Friday.

Bear Mountain officially opened its slopes Friday, marking the start of the 2024/2025 winter season.

Lifts are now operational daily across all three Big Bear Mountain Resort locations—Bear Mountain, Snow Valley and Snow Summit.

For opening day at Bear Mountain, Chair 7 provides access for beginners, while Chair 9 offers top-to-bottom runs and terrain park features for intermediate and advanced riders. The Coyote Creek and Grizzly Ridge tube parks are also open.

Later this month, Bear Mountain will unveil its new Midway chairlift, a high-speed, six-seat lift designed to enhance uphill capacity and improve access to the middle of the mountain. The lift, scheduled to open in mid-December, replaces Chairs 2 and 5.

The upgraded lift is part of a $12.7 million investment across the resort system, which included expanded base facilities, on-hill infrastructure upgrades and other enhancements.

Highway 330 has reopened following repairs from wildfire damage, but officials caution drivers about unstable road conditions due to loose debris. Travelers are advised to proceed carefully and expect variable conditions as the season progresses.

Lift tickets and season passes are available for purchase, with ticket windows opening daily at 8:30 a.m. Lifts operate from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Pass holders must provide valid identification for pass pickup.

With sunny skies and temperatures in the high 40s to low 50s expected this weekend, it’s a perfect time for snow enthusiasts to hit the mountain, officials said.

Prosecutors in Texas are seeking the death penalty for two illegal migrants from Venezuela who are accused of killing 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray in June. 

Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg, a Democrat, told Fox and Friends on Friday her office is now seeking the death penalty for Franklin Pena, 26, and Johan Martinez-Rangel, 22, who were indicted in September on capital murder charges in connection with Nungaray’s murder. 

Documents say Pena and Rangel kidnapped Nungaray and caused her death by applying pressure to her neck. The two are also accused of sexually assaulting her before leaving her body under a bridge. Authorities said both suspects entered the United States illegally shortly before the slaying.

Search warrants later revealed the men are possibly members of the bloodthirsty Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua.

Franklin Jose Peña Ramos, left, and Johan Jose Martinez-Rangel have been charged in the killing of Jocelyn Nungaray in Houston, Texas, on Monday, June 17. (Harris County Jail)

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MOTHER OF YOUNG GIRL KILLED BY ILLEGAL MIGRANTS BLASTS CRUZ CHALLENGER’S POLICIES: ‘TOOK MY DAUGHTER’S LIFE’

“We will be filing notice with the state of Texas that we intend to seek the death penalty against Jocelyn’s murderers,” Ogg said. 

“We are seeking death because we want the message out there that, regardless of who you are, but especially if you are illegally in this country, that you will face the same consequences as anyone else for murdering a child during the course of raping and kidnapping.”

Ogg said she spoke to Nungaray’s parents before making the decision to seek the death penalty. 

“We base these decisions on the strength of the evidence and the gruesomeness of this crime and yes I’ve spoken with Alexis Nungaray multiple times along with her father,” Ogg said.

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“Their family is supportive of this move. We don’t make the victims choose, our prosecutors determines what’s most likely [to succeed]. But we feel that a Texas jury will sentence these two defendants based on the evidence we have to death.”

Jocelyn left her mother’s apartment on the evening of June 16 to get a soda at a convenience store, at which point prosecutors say the suspects lured her out of the store and kidnapped her.

Jocelyn Nungaray, 12, was found strangled to death in a Houston creek in June of this year.  (Fox Houston courtesy of the Nungaray family)

JOCELYN NUNGARAY MURDER: HOUSTON PROSECUTORS SEEK ICE, CBP RECORDS ON ILLEGAL ACCUSED OF CHILD KILLING

“In this case, the defendant lured a 12-year-old under a bridge where he and his co-defendant remained with her for over [two] hours, took her pants off, tied her up, and killed her, then threw her body into the bayou,” Assistant District Attorney Michael Abner wrote in June.

The gruesome murder shocked the nation with Nungaray’s mother testifying before the House Homeland Security Committee in September about the impact of illegal immigrant crime on U.S. citizens.

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Nungaray told the committee that the suspects threw her daughter off the bridge thinking the creek below would wash away their DNA.

“Because of the Biden-Harris administration open border policies, catch and release, they were enrolled in the Alternatives to Detention program,” Nungaray told lawmakers. “This meant that they were released into the United States. It was not even a full three weeks later that they would take my daughter Jocelyn Nungaray’s life.

Flowers and a picture of Jocelyn Nungaray (Getty Images)

Ogg on Friday also took a swipe at the porous border under the Biden-Harris administration.

“The Democratic policies of open borders have failed the American public. If the Justice for Jocelyn Act filed by Senator Ted Cruz or any of the policies that President-elect Trump is pushing had been in effect, then it’s likely that Jocelyn Nungaray would be alive today. These types of horrific crimes committed by illegal immigrants crossing our border have to stop,” Ogg said. 

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“The family of Jocelyn is in a position they never dreamed would happen to them, and I think it’s unfair for anybody with children to be subject to criminals committing horrific crimes that don’t have to happen. If these fellows hadn’t been in that country, Jocelyn would be alive.”

“Crime has no party, let’s get em.”

Fox News’ Pilar Arias, Audrey Conklin and Michael Ruiz contributed to this report. 

Michael Dorgan is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business.

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You can send tips to michael.dorgan@fox.com and follow him on Twitter @M_Dorgan.

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