O.C. Home Invasion Robberies Investigated

Police are investigating a string of violent home invasion robberies in which gunmen have bound and pistol-whipped victims in four Orange County cities, sometimes torturing residents to reveal where they hide their valuables.

Since mid-May, gunmen have ransacked about a dozen homes in Westminster, Fountain Valley, Huntington Beach and Garden Grove, fleeing with jewelry and cash worth tens of thousands of dollars.

In one case, robbers shot a 61-year-old grandfather in the neck. In another, the assailants used a pair of garden shears to slice a Westminster man’s finger to the bone.

And last week, a Huntington Beach family was tied up and pistol-whipped.

“These guys are so, so violent,” said Westminster Police Sgt. Mark Nye. “They knock people to the ground. They hit them in the face. Even when they’re compliant on the ground, they pistol-whip them.”

The flurry of robberies has alarmed detectives, who said the number of home invasion attacks had been slowly declining in recent years--until now.

In less than a month, four Westminster homes were recently raided compared to only two in the previous three years.

The robberies all appear to fit the same pattern, from methods of selecting targets to the way assailants execute their raids.

The bandits generally target wealthy Asian businessmen and force their way into homes wielding handguns and sometimes wearing dark ski masks.

Residents are usually tied up and often are beaten.

Police from several departments are working together with the idea that the robberies are connected.

Victims described the assailants as Asian, ranging in age from late teens to early 30s.

As they flee, the robbers usually warn victims against contacting authorities.

Garden Grove police were following a group of men they believed might be part of a home-invasion crew on July 6 when the surveillance operation was suddenly cut short by gunfire.

Officers stopped Nam Quoc Nguyen, 21, after receiving a tip that named him as a suspect in one Garden Grove home invasion.

Police said they fatally shot Nguyen when he got out of his car clutching a handgun.

After the shooting, police arrested one man and two juveniles who were with Nguyen.

Prosecutors have charged the three with robbery and attempted murder in connection with one of the home invasions.

Now investigators are sifting through evidence from the other robberies for possible links, and police are trying to determine if any one else worked with the group.

The series of home invasions began May 14 and quickly reached its high-point four days later when two homes were robbed within a matter of hours.

Five more houses were raided before June 3, when bandits broke into a Westminster house just before midnight and ambushed residents as they returned.

Victims were tied up and pistol-whipped. The gunmen, eager to learn where valuables were stashed, tortured a 42-year-old man.

The robbers cut his little finger with shears, then sliced through his ear lobe, police said.

A fifth person who had arrived home with the victims but remained outside called 911.

Police arrived as the gunmen were fleeing but caught one suspect in a nearby alley.

Khanh Quoc Tran, 36, was later charged with robbery, kidnapping and assault with a deadly weapon.

Four days later, a 61-year-old homeowner was shot in the neck as he confronted three men trying to break into his Garden Grove home. The wounded man was treated at a hospital.

“He was very very fortunate,” said Garden Grove Lt. John Woods. “The round went right through his neck.”

In the latest robbery, four men wielding handguns burst into a Huntington Beach home about 2:30 a.m. July 6. The gunmen bound and beat residents before fleeing with jewelry and cash worth about $80,000.

Detectives suspect that other victims might not have contacted authorities yet because they fear retaliation.

But police also are optimistic that last week’s arrests might bring a halt to the robbery series.

“We’re hoping that it’s coming to an end,” said Westminster’s Sgt. Nye. “We think the majority of the crew is in custody. . . . I’m sure that we’ve put a damper on things.”