Home invasions return to LO

Published 1:32 pm Monday, May 10, 2010

Home invasion robberies targeting Hispanics have returned to Live Oak, with four such crimes recorded here in recent weeks, according to Live Oak Police Det. Sgt. Ron Shaw.

“We’re starting to get plagued by home invasion robberies again,” said Shaw.

More than 25 such invasions targeted the Hispanic community last year. The four follow the same pattern, according to Shaw.

Robbers break girl’s piggy bank, take coins

Shortly after midnight Saturday four individuals forced their way into the front and back doors of a home shared by seven on Northwest Houston Avenue. The suspects fled the scene with a television set, a DVD player, a car stereo and a black wallet as well as an undetermined amount of cash, but not before smashing open a piggy bank belonging to one of the residents, a young girl.

LOPD Chief Buddy Williams said the little girl was present when the invaders smashed open the piggy bank to steal the coins inside. Williams said several officers purchased a new piggy bank, filled it with coins and presented it to the little girl.

“That little girl will now have a new sense of trust and caring from the police department,” said Williams.

No injuries were reported in the invasion, said Shaw. One of the suspects displayed a semi-automatic while another displayed a revolver. They are described as black males, 5’9″ to six feet tall and with thin to medium builds. Two of the suspects were wearing latex type gloves and the other two wore leather gloves. Shaw said they were all wearing black ski masks black short sleeve shirts and black sneakers.

Language barrier and intoxication means few clues

Two homes in the same area were invaded within an hour of one another May 1, Shaw said.

Around 10:52 p.m., two black males opened an unlocked door at a 2nd Street home, walked inside and struck one of the five occupants in the chin and demanded money.

“It was undetermined what struck the victim in the chin,” said Shaw. “It was difficult to get information from them because of the language barrier.”

The suspects fled the scene with an undetermined amount of cash in a southwest direction.

Shortly after around 11:30, two black males forced their way into a home in the same area on 2nd Street. Shaw said little to know information was received from the four victims at that residence.

Two victims struck repeatedly with weapon

On April 17 at around 10:15 p.m. two victims were struck several times in the head and body with guns after three black males entered their home through an unlocked door on Scriven Avenue. The two victims were robbed at gunpoint with a semi-automatic and one small caliber handgun.

“The door was unlocked because (the victims) knew another roommate was coming home later,” said Shaw.

The suspects fled the scene with an undetermined amount of cash.

Shaw said last Monday, May 3 around 8 p.m. a Hispanic man was riding a bicycle on 5th Street near the intersection of Woods Avenue when two black males ran out of the shadows and pushed him off the bike. They demanded money and fled with cash and a cell phone.

They were described as about six feet tall, around 300 pounds with long dreadlocks. Both were wearing white T-shirts and long jean shorts. No injuries or weapons displayed were reported.

Shaw said all four robberies are being investigated as hate crimes.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Live Oak Police Department at 386-362-7463 or Crime Stoppers at 386-208-8477.