Deputies Rescue Girl From House Held by Robbers

Sheriff’s deputies, in a daring pre-dawn raid Wednesday, sneaked into a Malibu home that had been invaded by four men and rescued a sleeping 4-year-old girl, bundling her in their arms as they crept back out into the night.

The girl’s mother, father and a housekeeper had escaped earlier.

It was about 90 minutes after the girl’s parents, John and Wendi Artz, escaped that deputies slipped into the house on West Mariposa De Oro to rescue 4-year-old Sandra Artz, who had been asleep in a bedroom, Sgt. Rick Wells said.

“They snuck into the house, grabbed the kid and ran,” Wells said.

Only then did they learn the four intruders, who apparently did not know the child was in the house, had fled the scene. Two men were later arrested.

The family’s ordeal began about 1 a.m., when John Artz was awakened by his barking dog and went downstairs to the kitchen, where he was confronted by the men.

“They sat him down and demanded his money,” Deputy George Ducoulombier said. One of the men was armed with a handgun.

But Artz managed to flee while the suspects were removing television sets and other property.

His wife, who had been upstairs sleeping, heard the commotion and called 911 before sneaking out of the house.

Deputies surrounded the house and called for a special weapons team.

“In the interim, deputies saw the child in her bedroom as they looked through the window,” Deputy Britta Rodela said.

“The deputies quickly pulled the girl through her bedroom window and reunited her with her parents” about 2:30 a.m., she said.

About an hour later, deputies found two men walking along Las Virgines Road, about 1 1/2 miles from the house.

Lorenzo Diaz, 29, and Wilfredo Palacios, 25, both identified as transients, were arrested on suspicion of robbery, Rodela said.

“Diaz had jewelry in his possession taken from the house,” Ducoulombier said.

The SWAT team entered the home at 4:10 a.m. but failed to find anyone else inside. In addition to the SWAT team, police dogs were called to the scene, along with a helicopter and a mountain rescue team equipped with infrared devices that enable authorities to find suspects in the dark.

The two other suspects remained at large Wednesday.