Home Robbers Take Cash, Beating

Two San Fernando brothers overpowered and beat a pair of armed home-invasion robbers after one lowered his gun to pick up jewelry and cash, police said Tuesday.

Family members were unable to describe the male gunmen, because they wore masks, but the robbers are believed to be between 17 and 25 years old, police said. The pair escaped with about $800 in cash and a gold bracelet, but not before being punched and pummeled with the butt of their own rifle.

Although family members said they heard at least four shots discharge during the struggle late Monday, none of the home’s occupants were hurt.

The incident was the second in which Ana Gomez and her family were victims of a robbery at their home in the 1900 block of 7th Street. The first occurred in 1995, police said.

Family members said they believe the robbers were after money and gold, which they presumed Gomez kept in her home, because she operates a San Fernando jewelry store.

In the earlier crime, four armed men forced their way into the Gomez home and tied up the family. The gunmen were apprehended a few hours later and the stolen money and gold were recovered, the family said.

Though gunmen in the latest crime remain at large, their heist apparently did not go as planned, police said.

“The suspects were very amateurish and ill-prepared,” San Fernando Police Sgt. Mike Langston said. “The victims took advantage of their mistakes.”

One brother, 16-year-old Tony Chavez, said the smug attitude of the robbers prompted him and his half-brother, Gabriel Gomez, 24, to tackle the armed men.

“They were acting like punks,” Chavez said. “I was scared at first ‘cause of my mom, but then they started getting way too happy and smiling.”

The incident began about 11 p.m. when the robbers approached Chavez and a friend in the family’s open garage. The robbers forced the two at gunpoint into the house and ordered them--along with Ana Gomez, her son, Gabriel, and his girlfriend, Elizabeth Gaeta--into the master bedroom. Gabriel Gomez and Gaeta’s 4-year-old son was asleep in another room.

The robbers ordered the women to stand against one wall, the men against another.

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Police said one robber was armed with an assault rifle, the other with a handgun. When the man with the rifle became lax and lowered the weapon--nearly putting it down--the brothers attacked, Chavez said.

“My brother jumped across the bed and got the one guy, and they started fighting in the hall,” Chavez said. “I went for the other guy, and we ended up in the bathroom. I could see my mom was hitting him, too. I had my hands on the [barrel] but [the robber] had the trigger and shots started going off.”

Two bullets hit the bottom of the bathtub, another went through the wall. A fourth apparently ricocheted off the tub and may have struck the robber in the lip, Chavez said.

“He was bleeding all over the place,” Chavez said, adding that the robber fled, leaving the rifle behind.

Chavez said his brother was still scuffling with the second gunman at that point.

“I went to the guy fighting with my brother and started hitting him in the head with the [rifle butt],” Chavez said. “I hit him with the gun all the way to the door.”

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During the struggle, Gaeta and Ana Gomez climbed out the bedroom window and went to a neighbor’s house to call authorities.

Police arrived, recovered the rifle and searched for the robbers.

By late Tuesday, no arrests had been made, police said.

Gabriel Gomez, who works as a security guard, was unavailable for comment Tuesday.

Chavez said his mother is looking for another house.