Three suspects have been arrested in the midday home invasion robbery of an elderly woman, Tustin police said.
The wrists and ankles of the 80-year-old woman were bound while the perpetrators ransacked her house, grabbing cash and valuables, before taking her car keys and leaving in her Lexus SUV, according to Lt. Robert Wright.
The victim sought help from a neighbor to unbind her wrists, and call 911.
Police put out a bulletin with details on the Lexus, and it was spotted in Los Angeles. LAPD arrested three individuals with the vehicle, Wright said. They have not yet been identified.
Why the robbers targeted the home in the 14600 block of Pepper Tree Circle was not apparent. The location is on a cul-de-sac several turns away from any major streets.
The perpetrators may have believed no one was home. They rang the door bell, but with her husband away from the house, the woman home alone did not answer. She thought they had left, but later was confronted inside by one man, who led her into another room where a second man bound her, Wright said. Police found pry marks on a sliding door at the back of the house.
"They overturned mattresses, pulled out drawers, completely ransacked the house," Lt. Wright said.
U.S. & World
The robbers did not wear masks, but she did not recognize them, she told police.
The victim had bruise marks on her wrists, according to the neighbor whose husband helped her remove the bindings. She got a medical checkup and did not appear to have other injuries.
