Two men allegedly broke into an occupied apartment in the 1300 block of Hayworth Avenue in West Hollywood while its residents were asleep inside, climbing through a broken window before the residents woke up and called 911. Deputies swarmed the area, set up a containment zone, and caught one suspect while a second got away.
According to WEHOonline, the break-in happened on Tuesday, and West Hollywood sheriff's deputies responding to the scene blocked off traffic on both Fairfax Avenue and Hayworth Avenue as they worked to contain the area. A sheriff's helicopter circled overhead during the search for the second man, who was never found or described publicly.
Deputies caught one suspect, and sheriff's booking records identified him as 20-year-old Taran Sykes. He was booked on suspicion of burglary and taken to the West Hollywood sheriff's station, where booking records showed he had two outstanding burglary warrants in addition to the new case, bringing his listed total bail to $50,000. Records show Sykes was released on bond later Tuesday.
What Deputies Have — and Haven't — Confirmed
West Hollywood Sheriff's Sergeant Clark told the station that no injuries were reported in the incident, but did not disclose whether anything was actually taken from the apartment.
The break-in adds to a string of recent property crimes rattling the city, though it stands apart from a separate incident at Fashion Full Circle on Holloway Drive that also drew a sheriff's helicopter and a K-9 unit after a roughly 3:30 a.m. response, per the same outlet's separate report. That Holloway Drive case is a distinct investigation from the Hayworth Avenue burglary.
A City Watching Its Crime Numbers Closely
West Hollywood has actually seen its overall Part I crime count fall, with 868 such crimes recorded in the first half of 2026 compared with 983 during the same period in 2025 — an 11.7% decline, according to WEHOonline's crime data analysis. But residential burglaries bucked that trend, rising citywide from 46 to 55 over the same stretch, with Mid-City burglaries jumping from 10 to 18 and Eastside burglaries climbing from six to 15.
Robberies have told a mixed story too. WEHO Times reports that West Hollywood logged 49 reported robberies through August 2026, down from 62 during the same period in 2025 — roughly a 21% drop, according to WEHO Times. Still, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department announced increased patrols throughout West Hollywood, including the Rainbow District, after a run of recent armed robberies.
Countywide Burglary Ring Also Under Investigation
Separately, investigators have been unwinding a larger burglary series stretching across Los Angeles County, including a February 2026 string of break-ins in Tarzana and Woodland Hills, with investigators later linking cases in Downey. Five men have been arrested in that case, which NBC Los Angeles reports involved suspects smashing rear sliding glass doors to steal jewelry, designer purses, eyeglasses and clothing, according to NBC Los Angeles.
Detectives in that investigation recovered handheld radios, masks, gloves, Wi-Fi jammers, two vehicles, weapons and ammunition, and the outlet notes investigators believe the suspects may be responsible for additional unreported burglaries.
The Hayworth Avenue burglary leaves at least one open question for neighbors: the identity and fate of the second suspect remain unknown, and whether anything was stolen from the apartment has not been disclosed. For now, residents in the area are left with a reminder that even an occupied home offers no guarantee against an unwelcome visitor climbing through a broken window in the middle of the night.
