Shoelaces Used to Tie Couple in Rancho Bernardo Home Invasion

SDPD says the suspects covered their face and wore headlamps and may have been involved in a previous incident in Sorrento Valley

Three men broke into a Rancho Bernardo home and held a couple at gunpoint early Friday, and San Diego Police are looking into whether this crime is related to an earlier incident in Scripps Ranch.

The break-in occurred just before 4 a.m. on Aliento Court, a cul-de-sac located west of West Bernardo Drive and north of Bernardo Center Drive.

“It’s pretty scary,” neighbor Rick Ellis said. “We haven’t been back to sleep since that happened.”

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“It doesn’t look to me like they were picked out for any reason except that their gate was unlocked," Ellis added.

Two adults in the home at the time were tied up with shoestrings. Once the couple was able to break free they ran to a neighbor's home and called police.

“Shaken up, as anybody would be, somebody enters your home while you’re sleeping,” Mayer said.

“I hate to think what’s going through their minds, and how long it’s going to take them to get over that," Ellis said. "But I suspect quite a long time – if ever."

No one was injured.

A similar incident happened several weeks ago with the same number of suspects. Mayer said investigators would be looking into any similarities between the two crimes.

San Diego Police say the crime may be connected to another residential robbery that occurred Sunday, Jan. 31 on Passerine Way in Sorrento Valley.

The victim in that incident told NBC 7 said the men came up the stairs and woke up his wife. Armed with a handgun, they demanded she show them where they kept jewelry, cash and electronics.

The entire ordeal, he said, lasted a half hour with his young children nearby.

"We probably won't sleep for a while, but everyone will be vigilant and pull together here," the victim said.

Each robbery involved three suspects who initiated a theft by entering a side door, police said.

“If you have video surveillance and you live in those areas, please check it for us. You never know what your video may have captured,” said Robbery Lt. Todd Griffin.

Anyone with information can call the San Diego Police Department Robbery Unit at (619) 531-2299 or Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477.

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