Thieves Hold Couple at Gunpoint, Steal Cash and Jewelry

Two similar late-night robberies in two days within three miles of eachother has authorities questioning whether the thefts were committed by the same people.

Detectives are trying to figure out whether two home invasions in two days, both in the La Canada Flintridge area, are related after two armed men shined a flashlight in a resident's face and stormed into her home.

The thieves then robbed the couple around 10 p.m. Thursday at their home on the 5100 block of Jarvis Avenue, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. The robbers ransacked the home and took cash and jewelry.

The couple, in their 80s, was not injured, but the woman described the invasion as terrifying. The intruders may have shut off the property's motion detectors, allowing the thieves to approach in the dark.

The men shined a flashlight in the woman's face after she answered the door and told her they were police.

"He kept saying, 'Where are the diamonds? Where's the money?'" the victimized woman said.

The couple's silver case was emptied and several drawers in the bedroom were overturned and scattered.

"I was afraid they would take my husband out of the house," she said.

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A similar home-invasion robbery occurred the night before in nearby La Crescenta, about three miles away.

In this home invasion on the 2900 block of Los Olivos Lane, a man was awakened around 10:30 p.m. and tied up by two robbers. He was held at gunpoint while the home was ransacked. Cash, jewelry and electronics were taken from the home.

The man went to a neighbor's home for help as he was still tied up. 

Another neighbor told NBC4 that the man who was robbed was a 38-year-old doctor who was living with his mother because he was getting married.

"They ransacked the whole house, you can’t even go into the bedrooms, you can’t even get in there. The mattresses are upside down, they just stripped everything," the neighbor said.

Witnesses provided similar descriptions of the robbers to police.

"(The thieves) put a gun to the man's head, tied him up and proceeded to rob his house," neighbor Kevin Reid said.

Neighbors also said a third home a few doors down from the Jarvis Avenue house was burglarized while no one was home, and the home's motion-activated security lights did not turn on.

NBC4's Kate Larsen, Patrick Healy and Kevin LaBeach contributed to this report.

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