WESTMINSTER : 7 Thieves Tie Up Man, Rob Home

Seven teen-agers wearing black clothes and dark sunglasses tied up a 25-year-old man for more than 30 minutes Tuesday as they ransacked his home, stealing an assortment of electronic appliances and two cars, police said.

Police said they suspected the incident was yet another in a series of home invasions and robberies carried out by young Vietnamese gang members.

The youths apparently had been waiting in the victim’s garage and attacked him when he arrived home at 11 a.m., Westminster Police Lt. Larry Woessner said.

The victim, whose name was not released, told police that at least one of the youths was armed with a .38-caliber, pearl-handled gun. The victim was forced to unlock the door to his house, in the 9200 block of Storm Avenue, Woessner said.

Once inside, the youths tied up the victim and robbed his residence, he said.

The youths stole televisions, VCRs, a stereo system, camera equipment and a computer, police said. Also taken were the victim’s two cars: a black 1986 Honda Prelude with a license of 1SFS486; and a black 1985 Nissan 300-ZX, license number 2NAL454.

Both the victim and the suspects are of Vietnamese descent, Woessner said, speculating that the youths might have been gang members.

The robbery fits the description of other home intrusions, which have become an increasing problem for the Vietnamese community and law enforcement agencies throughout the state.

More than 200 home-invasion robberies have been reported in California since 1988, and some law enforcement officials believe the attacks are becoming more violent. Many attacks, they believe, go unreported because the victims fear retaliation.

In Westminster and Garden Grove, where Orange County’s Asian gang activity is most prevalent, at least seven home invasions have been reported since August.

“These type of incidents have come in spurts for a number of years,” Woessner said.

Last week, three armed youths broke into the home of a Yorba Linda physician, tied up his 14-year-old daughter and bound and pistol-whipped his wife before making off with an undetermined amount of cash, jewelry and other personal belongings.

City officials in Yorba Linda said they would consider offering a $20,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the bandits.