Monday, December 22, 2008

Burglar hits Paris Hilton's home, takes $2 million in jewelry [updated]

Television personality Paris Hilton attends the Fontainebleau Miami Beach Hotel grand opening party on Friday, Nov. 14, 2008 in Miami Beach, Fla. An estimated $2 million worth of jewelry and other belongings was stolen from the home of Paris Hilton, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

The incident occurred at 5 a.m. at Hilton's Hollywood Hills home on Clarendon Street. The burglar, or burglars, got into the house through an unlocked door, according to LAPD sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation was ongoing.

According to detectives, a man wearing a hooded sweatshirt and gloves ransacked Hilton's bedroom, took unknown property and fled, said Officer April Harding.

LAPD sources said they do not believe at this time that the incident is connected to infamous burglaries that have beset the Westside and Hollywood Hills and cost many celebrities hundreds of thousands of dollars in jewelry and other valuables.

In those cases, the two –- and possibly three –- men, clad in black and wearing ski masks and gloves, hit more than 70 homes in areas such as Bel-Air, Beverly Hills, Holmby Hills and the hills above Encino, usually at night and often on weekends. The victims in those burglaries included former Paramount Pictures chief Sherry Lansing and her Oscar-winning director husband, William Friedkin, Clippers basketball star Cuttino Mobley, Duran Duran guitarist John Taylor and his wife, Juicy Couture President Gela Nash-Taylor, and country music stars Tim McGraw and Faith Hill.

Detectives from the LAPD's Van Nuys division were at the Hilton home this morning conducting interviews. The sources told The Times that Hilton was not home at the time of the burglary and that the house is equipped with security video equipment.

Harding said a security guard reported a forced entry at 5 a.m. at the Sherman Oaks home. The guard described the burglar as a man in a hooded sweatshirt and gloves.

Hilton recently told Esquire magazine: "The best thing I've ever bought with money is my house. Having a nightclub in your house really helps for having a party."

-- Richard Winton and Andrew Blankstein

Photo: Paris Hilton attends the Fontainebleau Miami Beach Hotel grand opening party on Nov. 14 in Miami Beach, Fla. Credit: Evan Agostini / Associated Press

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