Robbery Attempt Fails After Home Is Invaded

Two men, one of them posing as a postal worker, invaded a home and attempted a robbery in the 12000 block of Epsilon Street on Tuesday after a resident saw the uniform and unwittingly opened her front door, police said.

The robbery attempt occurred about 1:20 p.m. when a man in his early 20s went to the house and rang the doorbell, Lt. John Woods said. The man was wearing a uniform similar to that of a letter carrier’s, he said.

When the woman opened the door, the assailant was quickly joined by another man and both rushed inside, police said. The woman, her husband and a 5-year-old child were ordered into the living room, where the men pulled a handgun and demanded cash and other valuables, Woods said. The assailants were Asian, he said.

“They made threats and brandished the gun around,” he said. The men did not realize that another resident, the child’s grandmother, was in a rear bedroom of the home calling police, Woods said. The woman dialed 911 and left the telephone off the hook while she hid, he said.

Before the assailants stole money or other items, they fled the home, perhaps sensing another person was inside, police said.

“For whatever reason, they got out of there,” Woods said. “We don’t know if they heard a noise in the bedroom or what. But they weren’t there long enough to hurt anyone or get anything.”

The men left in a light blue Honda Accord, which was driven by a third man who had been waiting in the car. The victims were not injured and do not know the identity of the assailants, police said. No arrests have been made.