Lake Forest : Family Robbed in Home Invasion

Three robbers identifying themselves as police officers forced their way into a home Thursday morning and held family members and visitors at gunpoint as they ransacked the home.

It was the third home-invasion robbery this week in Orange County.

The robbery occurred at 11:50 a.m. in the 23000 block of Cavanaugh Road, Sheriff’s Lt. Dan Martini said.

Three men came to the door and, identifying themselves in Spanish as police officers, demanded entry, Martini said. One of them held a gun to the head of one male victim and ordered all nine family members, some of whom were in other rooms at the time, to lie on the living room floor face down, Martini said.

Three friends who unwittingly stopped by for a visit during the robbery also were forced to lie on the floor, the officer said.

While one robber held the victims at gunpoint, the others ransacked the home, taking cash and jewelry. It is unknown if they fled in a car.

No one in the house, ranging from children to senior citizens, was injured.

Earlier this week, two families were terrorized by armed robbers who burst into their homes in Santa Ana and Westminster. Police arrived during the Santa Ana robbery and arrested three men, but the gunmen in the Westminster robbery remained at large. No one was injured in those attacks.