A Laguna Beach couple asleep in their home were tied up and robbed in the 100 block of Acacia Drive by two men who broke into the house around midnight Saturday, April 5, police said.
The couple, who were not physically assaulted, freed themselves after the bandits fled and ran outside to raise an alarm, Capt. Jason Kravetz said. Police are unsure who reported the incident and the victims could provide no information about a getaway vehicle, though they described the robbers as African-American.
“Officers conducted a search of the home, the surrounding area and the major thoroughfares. In all likelihood, the suspects had a head start on fleeing the scene before the victims were able to get loose and leave the home,” Kravetz said.
Police intend to review video following the 12:27 a.m. incident from recently installed surveillance cameras. Acacia empties onto Broadway Street near the terminus of Laguna Canyon Road.
“We are trying to determine why this home was targeted,” Kravetz said. “Usually, these aren’t random. More typical are hotel rooms or places with easy getaways.”
A previous home-invasion robbery in October 2012 seemed tied with the victims’ proximity to Coast Highway. Two reputed members of a South Los Angeles street gang were arrested last year in that armed robbery and pistol-whipping of occupants of a mobile home barely off the highway.
Police say no other break-ins were reported elsewhere in the city on Saturday. They declined to disclose the point of entry or the losses, saying those details are important to the investigation.
Police are seeking the public’s assistance in case they saw anything unusual in the area of Acacia, High, Linden or Cypress Streets between the hours of 9 p.m. Friday, April 4, and 12:30 a.m. Saturday, April 5. They can call Detective Julia Bowman at (949) 497-0371 or email her at [email protected].
