Family Tied Up, Robbed in Home by Armed Men

Ten members of a South Bay family were tied up and robbed in their home Saturday morning by three men who knocked on the front door and then forced their way inside by brandishing a handgun and two knives, police said.

It was the second robbery in two days in which a San Diego family was tied up and robbed by armed intruders. However, police do not believe the two incidents are related.

Happened Early

San Diego Police Department spokesman David Cohen said the Saturday robbery occurred about 1 a.m. in the 2600 block of Wardlow Avenue.

After the three men, described as being in their late 20s, were inside the home, they cut the telephone wire and used twine to tie up the entire family, Cohen said. They ransacked the home and took a stereo, liquor and cash, he said.

After the men left, family members could hear a vehicle leaving. One family member freed himself and went to a convenience store to call police.

None of the family members was injured, and police were still seeking the suspects, Cohen said.

In the earlier incident, another family was assaulted by intruders about 9:30 p.m. Thursday in their home in the 3600 block of 42nd Street in East San Diego.

Cohen said the mother and two of her children were tied up with telephone cord by three men armed with handguns.

He said a third child, 1 year old, was placed on the floor in front of the mother and the intruders demanded cash. When she refused, they struck her in the back of the head with the butt of a handgun and punched her face, Cohen said, adding that they also kicked the infant in the head.

He said the assailants then left, taking a video-cassette recorder and some jewelry. Police were alerted after the mother called out to a neighbor for help.

No arrests had been made.