Crime Ring Suspected in Violent Southern California Home Invasions
Detectives have noticed patterns in a number of recent home invasion robberies all over the Southland and now suspect that these crimes could be linked to the same group of criminals.
By Samia Khan and John Cádiz Klemack ••
Guns pulled, tied up victims, and ransacked homes: these are some of the patterns police have noticed in a string of recent home invasion robberies all over the Southland.
From Covina to Torrance, Los Angeles to Long Beach, detectives told NBC4 they now suspect that up to a dozen of these crimes could be linked to the same criminals.
NBC4 spoke with a victim in last Thursday’s home invasion robbery in Long Beach, where two armed intruders entered the home of an elderly couple in broad daylight.
"(The robbers) had us both on the ground. While one was ransacking the bedrooms for jewelry and money, the other one – (he) couldn't locate any tape or rope – he started to cut the (electrical) cords to tie us up," said the victim, who did not want to be identified.
Torrance Police Sgt. Chris Roosen described a similar scene at a recent Torrance home invasion.
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"We had two subjects enter the residence, tie up both the victims with electrical ropes and ransack the area - and the loss is jewelry and money," Roosen said.
The attacker in a Covina home invasion last Friday also targeted jewelry – but in that scenario, the violence escalated when a 4-year-old girl and her father were shot.
Though detectives have been able to connect some of the recent home invasion crimes, no arrests have been made, and police are encouraging anyone who notices anything suspicious to alert local authorities. it is unclear why these victims have been targeted.
