Career criminal Ephraim Hunter who broke into Getty Mansion while L.A. Mayor Karen Bass was inside as his mother reveals he was 'having a mental breakdown' and 'thought he'd be safe inside'

The man who broke into Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass' home over the weekend had a nervous breakdown while on drugs and thought he was being threatened and chased before he ran into the her mansion, his family claims.

Ephraim Matthew Hunter, 29, was arrested Sunday morning after he broke into the famed Getty House on Irving Boulevard, the L.A. mayor's official residence.

Hunter's mother, Josephine Duah, told DailyMail.com on Monday she spoke to her son, who is still in a L.A. jail on a $100,000 bail hold, according to L.A. County Sheriff's Department jail records.

'My son is losing his mind,' said Duah in tears.  'He thought people were chasing him and he ran into that house randomly. He wasn't trying to break into the mayor's house.

Ephraim Matthew Hunter, 29, was arrested Sunday morning after he broke into the famed Getty House on Irving Boulevard, the L.A. mayor's official residence

Family members said Ephraim Matthew Hunter, 29, had a mental breakdown and was on drugs the day he broke into LA Mayor Bass' home in the Windsor Square neighborhood.

Karen Bass was inside the home with her family when Hunter broke a window and gained entry into the Getty House, which is the mayor's official residence

Hunter had a troubled past with drugs and was arrested in 2015 in Massachusetts for kidnapping and attempted murder

'Thank God it wasn't someone who would've pulled a gun and shot him because he was just trying to run away from someone he thought was trying to get him. 

'He didn't know where he was and what he was doing. The truth is, he needs mental help.' 

L.A. County District Attorney George Gascón announced on Tuesday afternoon that charges were filed against Hunter, including first-degree residential burglary with a person present and one count of vandalism causing $400 or more in damage. 

The charges filed against Hunter also include an allegation of a prior strike out of Massachusetts.

Bass, her daughter, son-in-law and newborn grandson were at the home during the Sunday break-in, but were not harmed.  

Gascón added investigators believe Hunter targeted Bass and knew it was her home.  

Mayor Karen Bass has lived at the Getty home since taking office

He appeared at a downtown Los Angeles courtroom Tuesday afternoon where he pleaded not guilty to the charges. Hunter was ordered to return to court on May 6 for a hearing to determine if there is enough evidence for him to stand trial. 

He faces up to 13 years and four months in prison if convicted as charged.

Hunter broke a glass window at about 6:40 a.m. Sunday while the mayor and her family were inside the home, triggering an alarm that alerted police, LAPD spokesman Officer Jeff Lee told DailyMail.com.

Investigators said Hunter was cut by the glass and left blood stains throughout the residence. 

'Mayor Bass and her family were not injured and are safe,' the mayor's office said in a statement. 'The Mayor is grateful to LAPD for responding and arresting the suspect.'  

At Hunter's court hearing on Tuesday afternoon, Deputy District Attorney Jonathan Chung told the judge the home's 'occupants' were sleeping when Hunter allegedly 'bodily' broke the rear door.

He then tried to get into the bedroom doors and called 'out the name' of one of the occupants. 

Bass' name was not mentioned during the hearing.

Damage was estimated at between $5,000 and $10,000, according to the Chung. 

Deputy Public Defender Carlos Bido told the judge his client wanted to either be released on his own recognizance or on house arrest, and added Hunter could not afford to post the $100,000 bail amount.

LAPD Interim Chief Dominic Choi on Tuesday said the break-in happened during a security shift change, so there were no personnel guarding the home at the time of incident. 

Hunter's mother, Josephine Duah, told DailyMail.com her son moved to California to get away from his troubled past and bad influences. She said she was holding down a 'good paying job' before her son got into drugs again 

He added the LAPD detail at the mayor's home usually started at 7 a.m. Sunday and security was headed to the home when the back entrance break-in occurred.

Choi said the scheduling 'gap' has since been addressed.

Hunter was previously charged with kidnapping and attempted murder in Massachusetts in 2015, according to court records obtained by DailyMail.com.

He was sentenced to five to seven years in custody after a conviction for assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, kidnapping, possession of heroin and armed robbery on March 2, 2015.

Hunter spent six years in jail and was released on probation on June 2021, according to court records.

His family tried to provide him with support and even started a fundraiser to help Hunter get back on his feet once he got out of jail.

'The reason most people coming from prison return is due to lack of support,' wrote Hunter's brother, Joshua, on a GoFundMe post. 'Nothing to get them going back into society. Struggling to get a job, due to a record, some have no where else to turn but back in the streets. 

'This is what we don’t want to see for Ephraim. With help, we can provide him with the funds to be able to give him a small start to bettering himself.'

The family was able to raise $4,846 for Hunter.

Hunter's family tried to raise money for him on GoFundMe to help him get back on his feet once he got out of jail

Hunter's mother said he had issues with drugs in Massachusetts and was hanging around with 'the wrong crowd' when he was arrested and charged in 2015.

Old posts from his Instagram account showed a younger Hunter smoking marijuana and wads of cash next to some drugs. One post in 2012 showed Hunter with an ankle monitor on his leg. 

Duah said she thought moving to California would be a fresh start for her troubled son.

 'He was doing very well in California,' she told DailyMail.com. 'He was working so much that we told him you can't work seven days a week. 

'He was making very good money, so I know he didn't need to rob or take anything. He just took that drug and got him where he thought he was losing his mind.' 

Duah said her son doesn't live near Bass' home and told her he didn't know whose house he had entered.

'He had a problem with drugs before, but he went out to California and was doing great until it got to him again,' Duah said in tears. 'The issue is there are a lot of drugs available in California. 

'Whatever that drug is, he was in this drug-induced state that made him scared of everything. I want people to understand that he wasn't trying to break in. He was in fear for his life.'

Duah said her son was so mentally unstable that he thought she was outside of the mayor's home and calling out his name.

'He thought they were holding me and telling him to get outside the house, but of course I was not there,' said Duah, who lives in Massachusetts. 'He was all over the place and not making any sense. 

Josephine Duah said her son was so mentally unstable that he thought she was outside of Mayor Karen Bass' home and calling out his name. She blames drugs for her son's mental breakdown

'He needs help and that's the only reason why I'm talking. I'm his mom and I know he needs help. He's only been doing the drugs for weeks and it rapidly deteriorated him mentally. I really don't understand what made him do that because he was doing excellent. He just took that drug and got him to where he thought he was losing his mind.'

Bass served as a Democratic member of Congress from 2011 until her election as the city's 43rd mayor in 2022.

The former state Assembly leader is the first woman and second black person to hold the post, after former Mayor Tom Bradley, who held the position from 1973 to 1993.

Mayor Bass has helped push progressive policies across the city including no-cash bail.  

L.A. Mayor Karen Bass and her family were not harmed during Sunday's incident, LAPD officials said

The no-bail policy was first implemented in Los Angeles during the COVID pandemic shutdown in 2020 to ease crowded city and county jails. 

Suspects arrested for nonviolent crimes were immediately released without having to pay bail before their arraignment.

California law allows judges to set bail based on the defendant’s criminal record and the seriousness of the crime.

The policy was reinstated in May 2023 after Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Lawrence Riff ruled in favor of a group of activists who sued the county and claimed they had suffered under the cash bail system.

Critics say the elimination of cash bail offenses is an invitation for those to continue to brazenly break the law. 

Sunday's incident is the second time in three years Bass has been the victim of a break-in.

In 2022, while she was running for office, two men stole a pair of handguns from her Baldwin Vista home.

They only took the two weapons leaving behind cash and electronics.

Patricio Munoz and Juan Espinoza pleaded no contest last year to burglary and grand theft of a firearm. Both received prison sentences.

With City News Service reports.