Three robbers tie up students

Costa Mesa police are searching for a trio of robbers who broke into the apartment of two college students and stole computers, cash and clothes early Monday.

The students, who live in the Camden complex near Orange Coast College and whose names are being withheld to protect their safety, said the robbers burst into their home at about midnight, tied them up and then rifled through the house looking for valuables, authorities said.

“It was straight out of the movies,” one of the college students said. “I saw people die like this in the movies.”

The attackers — clad in dark clothing, hooded sweat-shirts and bandannas to mask their faces — knocked on the door and then pushed their way in when one of the students answered.

One of the robbers punched the man who answered the door in the mouth with the handle of his gun.

The robbers threatened the victims with knives and the gun before tying them up with jumper cables, the students said. The robbers swept the apartment and made off with two laptop computers, an iPod, suits and about $200 in cash, the students said.

“That laptop is my life,” one of the students said. “It has all my photographs and songs. I use it for school.”

“These guys knew what they were doing,” his roommate said. “Someone knew we had a bunch of nice [stuff] in our place.”

The pair said the gravity of the situation hit home when they heard a gun being cocked as one of the robbers held it up to the head of one of the students.

“They had a revolver to his head, knives to our throats,” one of the victims said. “What do I do, try and be a hero? I didn’t want to risk my life.”

The robbers would have made off with more if the college students’ friends had not shown up to visit, the victims said.

The robbers ran to the back patio, threw the bags of stolen goods over the railing of the third-floor apartment and climbed down some nearby trees, the students said.

Neto Gomez, a neighbor, said he was watching television when he heard the robbers escaping.

“The door was cracked and I heard someone climb into a tree,” Gomez said. “It was pretty scary so I just closed the door.

“There’s been some pretty crazy [stuff] going on here lately.”

David Snyder, another neighbor, said his home was also broken into a month ago, but he still feels relatively safe living there.

“There’s been an increased amount of stuff going on,” Snyder said. “It’s not terrible, though. They keep the building up and have a security guard patrol the grounds.”

But the college students are looking to move.

“I’m afraid to open the door,” one of the students said. “I just don’t want them to come back. Someone knows we have nice stuff and I don’t want them coming back for seconds.”

KELLY STRODL may be reached at (714) 966-4623 or at kelly.strodl@latimes.com.