Series of home invasions hit the Las Vegas Valley, police say
Masked men with handguns have used open doors and windows to break into valley homes 15 times this year, in some cases tying up the residents while they ransack the house, Las Vegas police said during a news conference Thursday.
In each case, two or three males used unlocked doors and windows to gain entry, surprised the people inside, and either tied them up or sat them on the ground at gunpoint while they stole everything from jewelry to televisions.
"We've had personal vehicles stolen," Lt. Clint Nichols said. "We've had children tied up. We've had children confronted at gunpoint. We've had people getting woken up in the middle of the night, all through something that could be prevented by locking your doors."
In only one case has a victim been injured. A 44-year-old man was shot in the hip last week while fleeing.
Detectives believe the robberies might have been committed by the same group of people. Nichols said they have mostly taken place in the northwest valley, but police did not release locations of the crimes on Thursday.
Police are encouraging residents to keep their windows and doors shut and locked the suspects are targeting homes that are easy to enter.
Nichols said that the department's patrol officers have been asked to watch for homeowners who leave themselves vulnerable.
"You may have a Metro police officer knock on your door and tell you, 'Not the best thing to be doing,'" Nichols said.
The most violent incident happened on March 31 when two suspects broke into a home on the 8600 block of Queens Brook Court, near Durango Drive and Craig Road shortly after midnight.
Police said a 44-year-old man was in his house when two armed suspects walked into the home through an unlocked front door.
The suspects demanded money and wanted to know where the home's safe was, police said.
The victim told the suspects he had neither. That's when one of the suspects searched the home for valuables while the other suspect held the man at gunpoint.
Later, the man was able to escape and call police from a neighbor's house, but not before he was shot in the hip with a 40-caliber gun.
The victim was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries. Nichols said Thursday the man had been released and was in good condition.
Investigators last month released a sketch of two suspects, one of whom is described as having bad acne on his cheeks. The descriptions of the suspects are otherwise not specific two or three black males between 5 feet, 10 inches and 6 feet, 1 inch tall, who weigh between 140 and 200 pounds.
Police are also looking for a vehicle stolen by the suspects, a black 2001 Ford Windstar minivan with Nevada license plate number 658VYX. The vehicle was taken during a robbery in which the suspects couldn't fit all of the stolen items in the vehicle they arrived in.
The minivan was seen just a few hours later at another robbery, Nichols said.
Other stolen items have included flat-screen televisions as large as 60 inches, gaming consoles and cash.
"Pretty much anything that could be of value," Nichols said.
Detectives are also investigating a 16th incident, a recent sexual assault in which the suspect's entry into the home was similar to the other robberies.
But the primary motive in that event was a sexual assault, not robbery, Nichols said.
Contact reporter Lawrence Mower at lmower@review journal.com or 702-383-0440.
