Home-Invasion Robbery Foiled

Three suspected gang members from San Gabriel barged into a home here and held two families at gunpoint Wednesday morning demanding money, authorities said.

Two 17-year-old males and a 15-year-old male pushed their way into the two-story home in the 4000 block of Bending Oak Court about 9 a.m., telling the six family members that they would kill the grandmother if they were not given money, said Ventura County Sheriff’s Sgt. Rod Mendoza.

“They were extremely violent, brandishing handguns and ransacking the house,” Mendoza said.

While the teens went through the home--shared by members of the Sok and Ho families, who are related--several children hiding upstairs called 911. Sheriff’s deputies surrounded the house and the suspected gang members gave up without incident, Mendoza said.

This was the third home-invasion robbery in the area in the past four months. Last month, a Simi Valley man was robbed by three armed men who posed as laborers. A Simi Valley couple were robbed in their garage when thieves followed them home in October.

Authorities are not sure why the suspects in Wednesday’s robbery--whom investigators said belonged to an Asian gang--picked the Moorpark families.

“We believe they came to this house for a reason, but we’re still unraveling what exactly happened,” Senior Deputy Harold Hanley said at the scene.

While deputies kept bystanders behind yellow crime scene tape, family members stood together outside the home.

Investigators said immigrants have been targeted by gang members who believe such families are more likely to keep large amounts of cash and valuables in their homes and are less likely to turn to the police for help.

In this case, family members thought they might have been targeted because their father owns an automotive garage in Van Nuys.

Maren C. Sok, who was not in the home when her family was robbed, said she believes the suspects knew her father.

“I want to see them, so I can tell if I know them,” said Sok, who works in the garage with her father.

She said the three teenagers knocked on the door shortly before 9 a.m., posing as students trying to sell candy.

Sok said that her older sister, Lorren Ho, answered the door, and the teenagers forced their way inside and held a gun to her head. Ho started to cry and scream.

“They told her to shut up and said they knew my father and that we were rich,” Sok said. “Then they told her to take them to the money and everything.”

The teenagers rounded everyone up and took them into the kitchen while they ransacked the house looking for valuables, Sok said.

“When the cops got here they threatened to shoot [the family], but I guess they figured they couldn’t get away so they gave up,” she said.

Inside the suspects’ car, a black Toyota SR5, were three teal McDonald’s hats, the kind employees wear, but investigators could not say if the suspects worked for the fast-food restaurant chain.

Investigators said they do not believe the suspects arrested Wednesday are linked to the earlier home-invasion robberies in Simi Valley.

“We have no indication that they were involved in any other crimes in this county or any other,” Hanley said. “This group is from outside the area and targeted this house for a specific reason.”

Although police said home-invasion robberies are rare in eastern Ventura County, they have been occurring more frequently.

During the past three years, gun-wielding intruders have struck seven homes in Simi Valley and Newbury Park.

Simi Valley resident Mark Strait was slightly injured after two men forced their way into his Patricia Avenue home and made off with an undisclosed amount of money in December.

Returning from an out-of-town trip, a Simi Valley couple were robbed in their garage in October. Three suspects were arrested in that incident.

In September 1996, three residents were bound and robbed by four men who entered their Vicki Court home posing as police officers.

In June of that year, a Newbury Park woman was attacked by an intruder who later fled with her car.

In September 1995, a couple were bound and their three children held at knifepoint and gunpoint by three men who later fled with money and other valuables.

And in February 1995, two men posing as express delivery employees held two Simi Valley women at gunpoint before fleeing with a small amount of money.

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Hadly is a Times staff writer and Metcalfe is a correspondent.