Search for 2 remaining El Monte home invasion suspects continues

Child reportedly held at gunpoint in one of three El Monte home invasions

By Gregory YeeStaff Writer

Nov. 29, 2022 5:30 AM PT

Authorities are searching for two remaining suspects they believe are responsible for three back-to-back home invasions in El Monte on Sunday that left three people injured.

On Monday, a clearer picture emerged of the incident, which reportedly saw the intruders zip-tie some victims, hit them, point a gun at a boy and take a dollar from the child.

A victim told KTLA-TV Channel 5 that intruders broke through a sliding glass door to her home, where they had been celebrating a child’s birthday hours before.

The woman told the news station that the intruders zip-tied her and told a boy in the home to give the intruders all the money he had — a single dollar bill.

The intruders left for a neighbor’s home after grabbing what they could, according to KTLA.

“We told them, ‘You know they don’t have anything. They’re just old people,’” she told the news station. “I just heard them screaming and then the gunshots, and at that point, I was just praying like, ‘Oh, my God, they killed them.’”

The gunshot, however, was a warning, and the victims were severely beaten, according to KTLA.

Authorities have arrested Ajaon Payne, 24, of Compton in connection with the incident, Lt. Doug Knight, a watch commander with the El Monte Police Department, told The Times on Monday.

A 17-year-old was also arrested but was not named because of their age.

Two other suspects, both men, remained at large, Knight said.

Officers were called to the 2700 block of Potrero Avenue around 1:10 a.m. Sunday, where thieves had broken into three neighboring homes, police told The Times after the incident.

At the third home, three people were struck with a blunt object and were taken to a hospital. One was in serious condition, police said Sunday.

Knight did not have an update on the victims’ conditions Monday.