3 gunmen rob Costa Mesa family
Deepa Bharath
COSTA MESA -- Three men armed with handguns barged into an apartment
Thursday afternoon and stole money and jewelry from residents, police
officials said.
The front door to the apartment, in a complex in the 700 block of
Victoria Street, was closed but unlocked at the time, Lt. Dale Birney
said.
The three intruders entered the apartment and reportedly robbed a
41-year-old woman and her nephew, he said. No one was hurt in the heist.
The nephew, 19-year-old Marvin Munoz, said he was in his bedroom when
two men with guns came in, pushed him on the bed and took his money, cell
phone and jewelry.
“They were pointing the gun to my chest and said, ‘Don’t move,”’ Munoz
said.
He said they also went into his aunt’s room and robbed her. Munoz said
the alleged robbers spoke in English and Spanish.
“I’ve never seen these guys before,” he said. “But what surprises me
is why they picked us out of all the apartments here. Why us?”
Birney said police have not been able to answer that question yet, but
added that it could be because their door was unlocked.
Birney also said a friend of Munoz’s tried to grab one of the robbers
as he walked into the home. The robbers were still able to get away and
ran out onto Victoria Street.
The friend, Jose Guzman Gomez, said he confronted the intruders at the
door as they were leaving.
“They were dressed in all black with a hooded sweatshirt,” he said.
“One of them, the guy I grabbed, lifted up his shirt and showed me a
pistol” tucked in his waistband.
The men are described as between 18 and 20 years old and wearing
dark-colored clothing, police said.
* Deepa Bharath covers public safety and courts. She may be reached at
(949) 574-4226 or by e-mail at o7 deepa.bharath@latimes.comf7 .
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