Posted on 04/30/2004 2:07:58 AM PDT by sarcasm
Either the home-invasion crew has ditched its masks and guns or a new crew has emerged.
Either way, another person was added Thursday to the growing list of victims when four knife-wielding men broke into a Norcross-area apartment.
Police say the same suspects, a group of five to six Hispanic men, may be responsible for seven home invasions in Gwinnett and neighboring Barrow counties since Feb. 25.
But police are uncertain whether Thursday's home invasion is the work of the same crew.
"It has some similarities to the other home invasions," said Gwinnett police Cpl. Dan Huggins. "We're certainly looking at it as it may be related. But there are some marked differences. There are only four Hispanic male suspects in this one. They used knives instead of guns, and they did not wear masks."
Thursday's robbery occurred about 3 a.m. at the Huntington Ridge apartments on Windsor Lane.
Four men entered the apartment, which was occupied by José Gomez. The suspects tied up Gomez, then fled with an undetermined amount of cash and jewelry.
Gomez was not injured, Huggins said.
There were no signs of forced entry in the apartment. Police are not sure how the suspects entered the apartment, located on the ground floor of a three-story building.
A visibly shaken Gomez answered the door at the apartment and declined to talk about the incident Thursday afternoon.
Many of Gomez's neighbors stood outside talking about the crime.
Vanessa Watson said she had heard about the wave of home invasions and said she was scared.
"We need some security or something to help us feel more safe," Watson said.
"This stuff really shakes you up," said Robert Moon, who moved into the same apartment complex as Gomez six months ago. "We keep the gun loaded now," he added.
Police say Thursday's crime closely mirrors other recent home-invasion rob- beries.
On Feb. 25, five armed men broke into a Law- renceville-area home. They stole cash, jewelry and a car and sexually assaulted two female residents.
On March 5, five armed men broke into a Law- renceville-area home and stole cash and jewelry.
On March 22, a family in Barrow County was the target of a home invasion by five men. A woman was sexually assaulted, and a car and cash were stolen.
On March 29, five armed men broke into a Duluth home, tied up the occupants and made off with money, jewels and a truck.
On April 9, five armed men broke into a Norcross-area home, shot one of the six occupants and made off with cash and a truck. The victim suffered a minor injury.
On April 18, five or six suspects broke into a home. A female resident was sexually assaulted, a child was pistol-whipped, and cash and a car were stolen.
The same day, the suspects then went to a nearby home. They burned a male resident with a heated knife and stole cash.
In all the cases, the victims and the suspects are Hispanic. In all the earlier cases, the suspects have worn masks. In the Barrow County incident, one of the suspects took off his mask. Police have released a composite sketch of that suspect.
Gwinnett County police Chief Charlie Walters said that solving the home invasions is his department's top priority.
"We are putting every resource that we can on these cases, but we have to work in partnership with the community on this one," Walters said. "This one is difficult because of some cultural and language barriers. But I know someone in the community knows something about this. We need them to step forward."
It seems like they're talking plenty which surprises me. I'm glad, though, because it may assist in getting these jerks out of commission soon.
But these thugs, like the Asian ones, rely on the silence of the community to get in their dirty work before somebody gets the nerve to call in the police.
And it permeates every part of our lives.
Even works of fiction that I have been reading - lately I have noticed a definite anti-gun slant to many of the stories/authors (mostly "cozy mystery-mind candy" types for escape purposes) that I read. All of the bad people have guns and the good people, although they sometimes have to use guns to protect themselves, still lament the fact that they had to use them. It sickens me.
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