Home invasion and robbery can happen anytime and in any neighborhood. Most people think it can’t happen to them and that their neighborhood is safe, but crooks don’t care if you’re white, black, rich, or poor. If the opportunity presents itself you could easily become a victim of a vicious home invasion or burglary. Nothing in this world can prepare you for this horrible experience and violation. The statistics today speak for themselves: a home burglary takes place approximately every 15 seconds and 1 in 5 homes will encounter a home invasion.
SANTA ANA — A juvenile was stabbed in the back and beaten with his own gun during a home invasion robbery Tuesday, police said.
Officers responding to reports of a robbery at a home in the 400 block of South Parton Street about 2:40 p.m. stopped a man and a male juvenile attempting to leave the neighborhood in a white vehicle, Santa Ana police Cpl. Anthony Bertagna said.
The juvenile was suffering from a stab wound and head injuries and was taken to a hospital, while the man was taken into custody.
Police described both of the suspected robbers as gang members.
The robbery took place at a nearby single-story home across the street from Santa Ana High School. Three men were home at the time of the robbery, Bertagna said, two in a detached garage and the third sleeping in a bedroom.
Bertagna said the two gang members, one of whom was armed with a handgun, parked around the corner from the home and walked up to the men in the garage, forcing them into the residence.
“They were asking them ‘Where is the gold? Where is the gold?’ ” Bertagna said.
The robbers forced the two men to sit on a couch while they woke up the third man in the bedroom, Bertagna said.
At one point, the man with the gun was standing on a stool and searching through a closet when the weapon reportedly slipped and fired, striking a wall, Bertagna said.
The robbers reportedly asked the victims to help them collect property from the home.
While they collected the items, one of the victims picked up a knife, Bertagna said.
One of the robbers left the home to drive their car closer to the property, Bertagna said. The man with the gun reportedly stayed to watch the three victims.
When the robber with the gun turned his back to the victims, the man who had picked up the knife stabbed him in the back and knocked away the gun, Bertagna said. He was apparently able to grab the gun and strike the robber several times in the head.
The injured robber escaped the home, got into the car with his partner and fled, Bertagna said.
Officers spotted the vehicle several blocks away on West Camile Street between Sycamore Street and Main Street.
None of the men in the home was injured, Bertagna said. They denied knowing the two robbers.
The block of Parton Street surrounding the home, as well as the block of Camile Street where the suspects were stopped, were temporarily blocked Tuesday while police went over the scenes.
Due to his age, police did not name the juvenile, describing him only as a 16-year-old male. He was undergoing surgery on Tuesday evening.
The man, who police identified as Daniel Fernandez, 21, was expected to be booked into Santa Ana City Jail on suspicion of robbery and assault with a deadly weapon.
The incident didn’t appear to disrupt activities at Santa Ana High School, where football players and runners continued to practice while police worked across the street.
You never know if you might be next. So don’t make your home inviting to these crooks. Use a perimeter security system and a front door intercom system that records video of the front door area. Not only does the system record the face of a perpetrator for identification to the authorities, it also gives you the ability to answer the front door safely from anywhere in your home while your alarm system is armed.
