San Diego Police are investigating two home invasion robberies in a span of less than two hours.
Just before 3 a.m., three suspects entered a home on Spring Meadow Lane in Sabre Springs through a side door. A family with two children was sleeping inside the home south of Poway Road and east of Interstate 15.
The suspects were confronted by the homeowner and fled the scene, police said.
“If you’re asleep in your home and somebody comes into your home and you’re woken up and realize there are strangers in your home, it’s terrifying,” said Lt. Kevin Mayer with SDPD.
Four miles away, around 5:30 a.m., several people living on Breezeway Place were awakened, robbed at gunpoint and tied up, police said. The suspects got away with some items.
A father and his two adult sons were restrained but were able to free themselves, go next door and call police. A toddler was asleep in the home at the time, according to SDPD Lt. Todd Griffin.
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One neighbor who identified herself only as Jennifer told NBC 7 she answered her door and found one of the victims asking her to call police.
"He had broken zip ties on his hands so I assumed they had been zip tied," the neighbor said.
The location of this robbery is inside the Carmel Mountain Ranch Country Club just east of Interstate 15 and north of Ted Williams Parkway.
Neighbor Caroline Palmer said they do lock their doors at night but this kind of crime in the community is still frightening.
“It’s kind of scary because this has always been a safe neighborhood,” Palmer said. “We’ve never worried about people breaking in or robberies.”
In each case, the robbers were armed with handguns, police said.
Griffin said officers were looking into the possibility that another home in the neighborhood was burglarized this morning.
Officers were doing a house-by-house check to collect evidence when officers discovered a door open on the home. They cleared the home and found it empty. They have contacted the homeowner to go inside the home and determine if it's been burglarized.
Now, the SDPD is asking for help solving the crimes. If someone who lives in the area has a home surveillance system, police want to take a look at your video from the past week to try to identify a suspect.
Investigators are interested in the following areas:
- 10700 Passerine Way
- 11400 Aliento Court
- 11300 Spring Meadow Lane
- 14200 Breezeway Place
Officials said the suspects may be driving a dark gray or silver, newer model sedan or a white, newer model sedan with a sunroof. The crimes took place between midnight at 5 a.m.
Three suspects were sought in a home invasion in Rancho Bernardo. However police have not linked the crimes or suspects.
On Friday, Feb. 5 three men broke into a home on Aliento Court, a cul-de-sac located west of West Bernardo Drive and north of Bernardo Center Drive. A couple was held at gunpoint and items were stolen, police said.
At the time, investigators said that incident may be connected to another residential robbery that occurred Sunday, Jan. 31 on Passerine Way in Sorrento Valley.
"Unfortunately in each case they've been wearing hoodies, with their faces covered, bandanas, gloves," Griffin said.
“So far we’ve not drawn any connection between suspects and victims in these cases,” said Griffin. “It’s too early to tell.”
For homeowners, the best line of defense is to lock their doors, according to police. The homes with doors left unlocked were targeted, Griffin said.
