An Altadena family were the victims of a home invasion robbery Saturday afternoon, with the robbers fleeing with an undetermined amount of cash.
According to Altadena Det. Lt. Joe Dempsey, two Hispanic men armed with a handgun and a baseball bat entered a home on the 1300 block of Avocado Terrace at about 4 PM Sept. 18. The four occupants -- a woman, age 58, and three men, ages 27, 32, and 36 -- were restrained, the home was ransacked. and an undetermined amount of cash taken. The suspects fled in a black SUV. The robbery took around 30 minutes.
After the men fled, the victims managed to free themselves and call the sheriff.
Dempsey said that there was "not a whole lot to work on right now," but they were working on the theory that the victims -- who own a restaurant in El Monte -- were followed home.
"To calm the fears of Altadena residents, the vast majority of home invasions are not just randomly picked," Dempsey said. "They are usually followed home, and there's some involvement with cash," such as restaurant or business owners, or casino patrons. "We don't have a home invasion robbery problem in Altadena," Dempsey said.
According to Dempsey, the victims of the robbery endured a similar home invasion nine years ago in the same location.
UPDATE 9/21: More details about the robbery have come to light in this week's crime log.
