Double robbery report reveals homeowner was forced to strip by gunman
More details were released Wednesday regarding two robbery incidents that began at a La Cañada residence last week, when a man armed with a gun rang the doorbell and demanded money from the homeowner.
Sgt. Alan Chu, a detective with the Crescenta Valley Sheriff’s Station, said in an interview last Thursday a man was at home shortly before 1 p.m. on April 4 when someone rang the doorbell of his home on the 1900 block of Parkdale Place.
According to a sheriff’s written report of that incident issued Wednesday, the homeowner initially heard a front gate close and looked out the window to see an adult black male, appearing to be in his mid-20s and with hair in cornrows and a short beard, holding a cardboard box.
Thinking the man was delivering a package, the resident opened the door. The man at the doorstep — described in the report as being about 6 feet tall, weighing 160 pounds and wearing a khaki-colored windbreaker and dark jeans — was holding a black semiautomatic handgun and pointed it at the homeowner, demanding money.
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The victim told the suspect he kept his money in a safe inside the home and, fearing for his life, directed him to an inside hallway where the safe was located. The safe contained a platinum diamond ring, a 36-inch gold chain with a crucifix and an unspecified number of $100 bills, according to the report.
After taking the items, the suspect ordered the victim to remove all his clothes and stand in the kitchen while the robber exited the property. Fearing he might be shot, the victim ran to a master bedroom and locked the door. A few minutes later, he ran from the bedroom into his backyard, the report stated.
From his backyard the homeowner saw someone he knew, originally identified as a worker on the property but described as a friend in the sheriff’s written report. That man told the homeowner he’d just been robbed while using the restroom at nearby Glenhaven Park. The homeowner called 911 to report the robberies.
The second man told sheriff’s deputies he was facing the urinal in the restroom when an adult black male approached him from behind and began patting his back pockets. The suspect told him not to look at him and then took his wallet, which contained cash, before leaving the restroom.
A deputy canvassing neighbors learned that one of them saw a black male in his late 20s with dreadlocks walking in the area two or three days before the incidents. Construction workers on the same block said they’d been in the area all day but hadn’t seen or heard anything.
Anyone who may have information is asked to call the Crescenta Valley Sheriff’s Station at (818) 248-3464.
Twitter: @SaraCardine
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