.png){kind=small}
OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) -- Approximately 50 home invasion robberies have targeted elderly Asian families in the Oakland Hills, and they may be connected to a small group of criminals, according to law enforcement sources. The I-Team's Dan Noyes has obtained internal police memos that we can't show to protect the sources, and that information has helped us track down some of the victims.
This is one of the home invasions listed in police documents obtained by the I-Team: On Monday, an 80-year-old man and his 69-year-old wife were caring for their two grandchildren when robbers broke into a second-floor window.
Their daughter told the I-Team, "One man was downstairs with my parents, you know, keeping an eye on them, while the other one was upstairs, trying to get into our safe, ransacking, you know, our closet, our bedrooms, looking for valuables."
The men held the couple at gunpoint for nearly 40 minutes -- a terrifying ordeal.
The daughter said, "During this time, my mom was trying to rush them out of the house by saying, 'Hey, you know, someone's going to be home soon. My son-in-law is going to be home from work soon. So we need to hurry up and get what you need.' You know, she offered them cash and said, 'hey, if what you're looking for is cash, here's cash, but just take it. Please don't hurt any of us.'"
The criminals got away with $10,000 in cash and jewelry.
The family has had three other attempted home invasions, and with each one, they take a new security precaution -- the fence, the cameras, the dog.