Man who broke into L.A. mayor’s home ordered to attend drug and mental health treatment

A man who broke into Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass’s home earlier this year will avoid jail time in favor of a suspended sentence and mandatory drug abuse and mental health treatment.

Ephraim Matthew Hunter, 29, was arrested in April after breaking into the Getty House, the official residence of L.A.’s mayor located in Hancock Park. Bass and her family were in the home during the break-in, but no one was injured.

Hunter was arrested and charged with felony vandalism and first-degree residential burglary, though the latter charge was later dropped. On Wednesday, Hunter pleaded “no contest” to the vandalism charge and also admitted to having a prior conviction and prison sentence for armed robbery.

As part of his plea agreement, the L.A. man will be placed on two years of probation and will need to undergo at least three months of drug abuse and mental health treatment before spending several more months in a halfway home. He’ll also have to pay restitution of more than $15,000.

Additionally, he’s also been ordered to stay away from Bass, her home and Los Angeles City Hall for three years, according to the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office.

Hunter denied knowing that the home he had entered was the mayor’s, telling Jon Baird of KNX News that he was on a five-day methamphetamine binge, thought he was being pursued and entered the Getty House to hide.

Hunter told Baird that he was not “targeting the mayor,” adding that the he is ineligible to vote and has no interest in politics.

The Getty House was originally built in 1921. It is the official residence of the Mayor of Los Angeles. Tom Bradley moved into the home at the beginning of his second term in 1977 and stayed there until he left office in 1993.

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