A home invasion at Chris Brown's Tarzana residence in California last week may have been carried out by people who know the R&B singer, officials believe.
Brown's home was broken into and ransacked Wednesday while his aunt was inside the house. Authorities believe that the suspects knew Brown and had inside information about him,
TMZ reported.
"Law enforcement sources tell TMZ, they believe the mastermind behind Wednesday's break-in was someone who knew Chris had just received $50,000 in cash for a nightclub gig," the celebrity gossip website reported. "We're told Chris typically does not have huge amounts of money lying around, so having it at the house was unusual."
"The robbers made it clear to Chris' aunt who was in the house that they knew the identity of the homeowner. The robbers demanded to know from the aunt the location of the safe, and during the robbery they let it slip they knew about the $50K," TMZ continued.
KTLA-TV reported that Brown's aunt, whose name was not released in media reports, was at the home alone when it was invaded, but Los Angeles Police Department Lt. Kirk Kelley added that he did not know how they got in.
Brown's aunt was eventually locked in a closet for an unknown amount of time during the invasion, but ultimately managed to call 911, KTLA-TV reported. The police department told KTLA that anywhere from three to five people could have been involved in the break-in.
Authorities told the television station that the suspects escaped with an unknown amount of cash, a computer, and other electronics.
The Los Angeles Times reported that a woman broke into Brown's Agoura Hills home in May, and cooked meals and wrote "I love you" on the entertainer's walls.
The Los Angeles County district attorney's office told the Times that Amira Ayeb, 21, had been staying at the home for several days before Brown returned home and found her. Authorities charged Ayeb with burglary, stalking, and vandalism.
Police said that they believed the woman removed the hinges from a door to enter to get inside Brown's home. The singer said, according to the Times, that the suspect painted her name on his cars and tossed out his daughter's clothes and dog's belongings.