‘Stay Calm': Family Tied Up by Armed Home Invaders

The Cheng family were held at gunpoint when robbers broke into his home

When armed robbers stormed into Josh Cheng’s room, startling him awake, he knew his safest option was to stay calm.

The suspects invaded his home in the Carmel Mountain Ranch Country Club early Thursday morning, waking up the 25-year-old Cheng, his father and his 15-year-old brother.

"Two guys come into my room, told me to pretty much just lay there, don't move, and they just asked me, 'Where's the money at?'” said Cheng. “And then they just went through all my stuff pretty much."

Bleary-eyed, the victim and his father were led at gunpoint downstairs to his brother’s room, where the suspects tied them up so they could steal items from the house.

Cheng told NBC 7 they were wearing hoodies and bandanas, so he didn’t get a good look at their faces. They also made him look down the whole time.

"Trying to stay as calm as possible for me so I don't make them any more anxious than they had to be so they don’t do anything wrong," Cheng said of the thoughts going through his head.

Finally, when the suspects grabbed what they wanted, the Chengs heard them run out the back door.

The father was able to grab some scissors and cut their ties off, and Cheng ran to get help next door. Despite the dangerous situation, Cheng was composed Thursday evening, looking back at the incident.

"I didn't think they were going to do anything as long as we just pretty much did what they told us to do,” he said.

Two and a half hours before the Cheng’s break-in, San Diego Police received a report of a home invasion on Spring Meadow Lane in Sabre Springs.

Suspects were able to get through the side door of a home where a family with two children was sleeping. However, they ran away when they were confronted by the homeowner.

Neighbors on Breezeway Place, where the Chengs live, said they are stepping up their security after hearing about the armed robbery. Some even want to buy weapons.

“We have a security system, and we got locks, and I’ll probably be getting a gun now and probably more surveillance as well,” said resident David Murphy.

Murphy and others described this Carmel Mountain neighborhood as a safe, quite place where break-ins – especially armed home invasions – rarely occur.

As soon as he heard the police on Thursday morning, neighbor Hao Ho said he ran upstairs to check on his 2-year-old.

Now, he is going out to get an alarm system and will make sure his family always locks the doors.

“I've told my wife, you always need to lock your door, lock the gate,” Ho said. “They probably tried to go try out home, but since our gate and door are locked, they probably skip by.”

The SDPD stressed the importance of locking your doors, every night and every door. It may seem like a simple thing, but officers said it is a huge deterrent.

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