Home Invasion Robbers Cast a Wider Net : Crime: Perpetrators and victims have typically been Asian, but now gangs are becoming less selective and targets include whites, Latinos.

On a Friday afternoon last October, two attackers forced their way into the Westminster home of a 79-year-old woman, tied her up with an electrical cord and stuffed a ball of yarn into her mouth before ransacking her home and stealing her purse.

The brazen crime was similar to hundreds of other “home invasion” robberies reported in Orange County over the past five years, the vast majority of which have been committed by Asian gangs, police say. But in this crime, there was one difference: The victim was not Asian.

In the past, police say, gangs have almost always preyed on fellow Asians, capitalizing on cultural and language barriers that keep many victims from going to police. But authorities warn that the attack on the 79-year-old white woman, and others like it, may signal that robbers are widening the range of their targets.

“The gangs are starting to get less selective,” said Westminster Police Detective Mark Nye, a specialist on Asian gangs. “Wherever the money is, that’s where they are going to go.”

There have been several other incidents in the past seven months in which non-Asians have been terrorized in their homes, reportedly by Asian gang members. Two of the robberies occurred in Westminster and one in San Juan Capistrano.

Home invasions have been most common in Westminster, Garden Grove and Santa Ana, which have sizable Asian populations. At least 150 of the attacks have been reported in those three cities since 1991.

But home invasion robberies have also been reported in Anaheim, Buena Park, Costa Mesa, Cypress, Dana Point, Irvine, La Habra, Orange, Seal Beach and Yorba Linda in the same time period.

Officials estimate that there may actually be many more home invasion robberies than the number reported. Police say that such crimes often go unreported because some Asians harbor a mistrust of police that may stem from experiences with authorities in their native countries.

“The gangsters I’ve talked to say they are targeting victims they know aren’t going to report the crime,” Nye said.

Other victims remain silent because of fear of retaliation by the attackers, who often threaten to come back and kill family members if they report the crime, Nye said. Other victims, police said, may be involved in illegal gambling or might be operating a business illegally out of their home.

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Police also say copycat home invasions have begun to show up around the county.

Last June, Seal Beach experienced what is believed to be its first home invasion robbery when three robbers, one carrying an Uzi submachine gun and another a semiautomatic weapon, forced their way into a home. Both the robbers and the victims in this case were white, police said.

In Santa Ana and Costa Mesa, there have been at least five recent cases of home invasion robberies committed by Latinos against other Latinos, police said.

“Some of these people might be learning the crime from Asian gangsters in prison or maybe they’ve seen it on television,” Nye said. “I think now we are going to be seeing more non-Asian victims and there will be more attention focused on this crime, because these victims might speak out more.”

In Garden Grove, the number of home invasions peaked in 1991, when 58 were reported. But the number declined dramatically in following years. In 1992, there were 17 home invasions reported, and last year there were just 14.

“I think the gang members are starting to learn that their crime carries a fairly stiff penalty as opposed to doing other kinds of crimes,” said Bruce Davis, an officer with the Garden Grove gang unit. “It’s just not worth it.”

In Westminster, which does not keep annual statistics on home invasions, there have been approximately 35 to 40 attacks since 1991, said Detective Mike Proctor.

While Asian gangsters have typically targeted upper-income areas, the home invasions involving Latino gunmen have not occurred in wealthy neighborhoods, said Santa Ana Police Cpl. Futi Semanu, who works with the department’s gang unit.

“They tend to commit home invasions in lower-income areas, hoping the residents have something of value,” Semanu said.

Proctor, who investigates home invasion robberies, said the spread of home invasion robberies to non-Asian victims is not a totally unexpected development.

“The gangs had previously gone from only committing residential burglaries on Asians to burglarizing anyone,” Proctor said. “We knew that eventually they would start robbing non-Asian families. They don’t change their (method of operation), just their victims.”

The robberies, which police have dubbed “home invasions” because of the military-style precision with which they are planned and executed, were first reported in Orange County in 1988.

In a typical attack, gangsters force their way in, tie up and brutalize family members--often sexually assaulting the women and beating the men--before escaping with money, jewelry and other valuables.

The robberies are often well-planned. Attackers find out all they can about the house, the residents and the kinds of valuables inside the home. Some even study floor plans of the house and conduct surveillance before carrying out the attack, Nye said.

“They may know one or more of the victims personally,” Nye said. “It might be an ex-boyfriend or girlfriend, a casual acquaintance and maybe even a roommate. It could be an inside job.”

The attackers use a variety of approaches to gain access to a home. One of the most common methods is to send a female gang member to knock on the door and make contact with the victims.

“She will look very innocent and ask for someone who lives in the house. Then the others will rush in behind her,” Nye said.

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Attackers have also followed business owners home and attacked them there. Merchants in Westminster’s Little Saigon have been targets more than once.

In December, a Costa Mesa family that owns a jewelry store in Little Saigon was robbed of $20,000 in cash and jewelry after five masked men with semiautomatic weapons burst into their home. It was the second time in four years that the family had been robbed at gunpoint inside their home.

But other approaches have been used as well. Two weeks ago, Proctor said a robber came to the front door of a woman’s Westminster home carrying a package and dressed in what looked like a deliveryman’s uniform. When a woman opened the door to sign for the package, the attacker pulled out a gun and forced his way into the home.

While police concede that it is often difficult to make arrests in home invasion attacks, Garden Grove officials said they have been having more success in recent years in identifying suspects. Detective Dale Walker said they identified suspects in 10 of the 14 home invasion robberies in 1993.

Nye said he would like to see legislation passed which would make home invasion robberies a federal offense like carjacking.

Foiling Home Invasions

Hundreds of home invasion robberies have been committed in Orange County during the past five years. How to prevent becoming a victim:

* Know who is at your door before you open it.

* Install proper lighting both front and behind your home.

* Trim shrubs and bushes around the front door where intruders could hide.

* Pay attention while driving home. If you believe you are being followed, drive to the nearest police station.

* Secure your front door with double bolts.

Sources: Westminster and Garden Grove police departments