Robbers Hit 2 Homes in Thousand Oaks in 2 Days

Robbers hit two Thousand Oaks homes on consecutive days this week, tying up residents in each incident, Ventura County sheriff’s detectives said Tuesday.

There have now been three home-invasion robberies this year in Thousand Oaks, a community of more than 100,000 that is nationally recognized for its low crime rate.

Sheriff’s detectives do not believe the robberies Sunday and Monday were connected. “We’re going to stay open-minded, but the basics from who the victims are, where they live, descriptions of the suspects and their methods -- those things are not consistent,” said Det. Jeff Miller of the sheriff’s major crimes unit in Thousand Oaks.

Jose Antonio Hidalgo, 50, was robbed Monday in his home in the 600 block of Avenida de la Plata in the Newbury Park section of western Thousand Oaks, Miller said. Hidalgo was outside his condominium about 1 p.m. when two men forced him inside and handcuffed him while they ransacked his home and took several hundred dollars worth of jewelry and money before fleeing in a red minivan. A relative later freed him and called authorities, Miller said.

On Sunday, Judith Silver, 66, returned from a carwash shortly after 11 a.m. and found two men inside her home in the 3200 block of Sawtooth Court in the city’s Westlake area. The men overpowered Silver and bound her with computer cable. They then searched the home and found about $1,600 in cash. Silver freed herself after the robbers left and called the Sheriff’s Department.

Earlier this year, a woman was alone in her Sunset Hills home about midnight when someone sneaked in and held her captive with a handgun he found there. He left with the gun and other property. A 35-year-old parolee from Chatsworth was arrested March 31 and remains in jail awaiting trial, Det. Allen Devers said.

Thousand Oaks had five home-invasion robberies in 2005 and four the year before.