Sherman Oaks

Man Armed With Machete Spotted in Front Of Synagogue

Police Sunday said a man seen masked and armed with a machete photographed outside a synagogue in Sherman Oaks has been arrested.

With details still sketchy -- including where and what led to his arrest -- David Brener was arrested Friday on suspicion of probation violation, said Officer Rosario Herrera of the Los Angeles Police Department's Media Relations Section.

Herrera confirmed that a photo taken outside Chabad of North Hollywood at 13079 Chandler Blvd. showing a man with his face covered in a scarf and holding a machete in a menacing manner was Brener. She did not immediately have his place of residence.

Brener, 49, was arrested at 11 p.m. Friday by the LAPD's Major Crimes Division, booked at 4:39 a.m. Saturday and taken to the Van Nuys Jail, where he was being held in lieu of $10,000 bail. He was released at 2:39 p.m. Saturday, according to the Sheriff's Inmate Information Center.

It's not the first recent scare for the local Jewish community.

In November, a 33-year-old man was arrested or allegedly committing attacks on three Orthodox Jewish women in the North Hollywood-Valley Glen area. Steven Szwet allegedly grabbed wigs off the women's heads as they walked in the area. He was released on bail, and the LAPD said they had forwarded that case to the City Attorney's Office for a possible hate crime enhancement.

Copyright CNS - City News Service
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