The sweet atmosphere of the Farmer’s Market in Westwood
turned sour after a burglary last week in which the
organizer’s profits were stolen.
According to Detective Lewis of the LAPD, Steve Whipple,
assistant manager for the Market, was carrying approximately $4,000
earned from the Farmer’s Market in his vehicle when he pulled
over after hearing a hissing sound.
After realizing he had a flat tire, Whipple parked his car near
1052 Glendon Ave. and went to get help.
He returned to his vehicle shortly after, around 9 p.m., and
found that the vehicle’s passenger-side rear window had been
broken into and the envelope containing the money had been
stolen.
Whipple could not be reached for comment Wednesday
afternoon.
There has been a lack of security at the Farmer’s Market
for several months since the fallout of Westwood’s Business
Improvement District last September, and community members had been
expressing concerns.
Last December, Captain Wemmer of the LAPD issued a crime alert
for West Los Angeles after a series of burglaries in the area.
This, in addition to two attempted burglaries in the Westwood
Medical Building, caused Westwood organizers to make requests for
the presence of a police foot patrol.
Michael Wang, LAPD senior lead officer for Westwood, has
repeatedly said a shortage of thousands of officers in Los Angeles
prevents relatively crime-free areas such as Westwood from having
the luxury of a foot patrol.
Jay Handal, president of the West L.A. Chamber of Commerce,
agreed that a foot patrol in Westwood would be impractical and the
responsibility for security should be placed on the market.
Handal also raised his concern about the lack of financial
accountability that the Farmer’s Market maintains.
“It’s a private event promoting Westwood and so far
the promoter hasn’t been forthcoming into giving the business
community the profits and losses in the market,” he said.
Several community members feel the Farmer’s Market should
hire private security, much like movie theaters do during
premiers.
“That would be a prudent use of some of the dollars that
we don’t know about,” Handal said.
In addition to the envelope of money stolen from Whipple’s
vehicle, credit cards and bank cards were taken. The cards could be
the police’s best hope for catching the suspect, if the
suspect were to use them, Lewis said.
The suspect has yet to be apprehended, and the police currently
have no leads as to who it could be, Lewis added.
Aaron Shapiro, who has managed Westwood’s Farmer’s
Market since its inception in 1994, did not return several phone
calls Wednesday.