A suspect has been taken into custody after breaking into Kim Kardashian's Hidden Hills home over the weekend and driving off in a vehicle belonging to a member of her staff, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. The suspect, identified by ABC7 Los Angeles as 27-year-old Trey Mendel, was arrested on suspicion of burglary and taking a vehicle without the owner's consent following an incident that unfolded Sunday afternoon.
According to the sheriff's department, a security guard called police just before 4 p.m. Sunday to report a burglary at the Hidden Hills property. Kardashian and her children were not home at the time, and the residence is currently undergoing renovations, authorities said. FOX 11 Los Angeles, citing a report from the California Post, said deputies responded to the call around 3:45 p.m. on Aug. 9 after receiving word of a break-in at the mansion near Calabasas.
Investigators say the suspect entered the property through a side door before being spotted inside the home. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department told ABC7 that Mendel was later seen loading items into a car parked at the residence. He is also accused of stealing a separate vehicle from the property and taking it for what deputies described as a joyride around the neighborhood before he was apprehended.
There is some variation in how the two outlets describe the sequence of events. ABC7 reported that Mendel loaded items into a car and separately stole another vehicle for the joyride, while FOX 11's account, based on the California Post report, indicates the suspect was seen driving one of Kardashian's vehicles around the area before being detained back at the mansion. Both outlets agree on the core outcome: the suspect was arrested at or near the property after the vehicle was recovered.
Eyewitness News, ABC7's news division, confirmed that the car taken during the incident belongs to a staff member rather than to Kardashian herself. FOX 11 did not name the suspect in its report, noting only that officials had not released the identity of the man arrested in what it described as a security breach. ABC7, however, identified him as Trey Mendel based on information from the sheriff's department.
Mendel remains in custody, according to ABC7, facing potential charges of burglary and taking a vehicle without the owner's consent. Formal charges have not yet been filed. The case will be presented to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office for review, the sheriff's department said, a standard step before prosecutors decide whether to move forward with charges.
Kardashian has not publicly commented on the break-in, and representatives for the reality star and businesswoman have not issued a statement addressing the incident, based on the available reporting.
A Pattern of Security Incidents
This is not the first time Kardashian's homes or property have been targeted. In 2016, she was the victim of a far more harrowing crime when five masked gunmen disguised as police officers stormed her hotel suite in Paris, bound and gagged her, and stole roughly 10 million dollars in jewelry, according to ABC7. That armed robbery led to a lengthy investigation and prosecution in France, ultimately resulting in eight people being found guilty in connection with the heist. FOX 11 similarly referenced the case, noting that eight of ten suspects were convicted in the 2016 Paris robbery and kidnapping.
The Hidden Hills incident is also not the only time Kardashian's vehicles specifically have been targeted. FOX 11, citing a prior TMZ report, noted that in 2017, while Kardashian was married to and living with the artist formerly known as Kanye West, someone entered the couple's driveway in Bel Air and vandalized three of their cars. That incident came roughly a year after the Paris robbery, underscoring a recurring theme of security breaches tied to the celebrity's high-profile properties and visible wealth.
Hidden Hills, the gated community where Kardashian's current property is located, is known for housing numerous celebrities and typically features private security patrols in addition to public law enforcement coverage. The presence of a security guard who placed the initial 911 call in Sunday's incident reflects that layered security setup, though it did not prevent the suspect from gaining entry through a side door.
Neither outlet reported any injuries connected to the break-in, and there is no indication that anyone besides the suspect was present inside the home at the time deputies arrived. The renovation work underway at the property may have created additional points of access or foot traffic that could be relevant to how the suspect was able to enter, though neither ABC7 nor FOX 11 detailed how Mendel specifically gained access beyond noting the side door entry.
As of the latest reporting, deputies had recovered the vehicle taken during the incident, and the suspect was in custody. The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office has not yet announced whether formal charges will be filed against Mendel, and it remains unclear how quickly that review will be completed. ABC7 noted that the case was still awaiting that formal charging decision at the time of its report, while FOX 11's account, drawing on the California Post, focused primarily on the joyride allegation and the broader pattern of security concerns surrounding Kardashian's properties.
For now, the incident adds another entry to a growing list of security breaches involving Kardashian's homes and vehicles over the past decade, from the high-value jewelry heist in Paris to the vandalism in Bel Air and now the weekend break-in and car theft in Hidden Hills. Authorities have not indicated whether the cases are connected in any way, and each has involved different suspects, locations, and circumstances.
