Two Redondo Beach residents were restrained with zip-ties while masked suspects burglarized their home on Sunday morning, police confirmed.
It happened just before 6 a.m. on the 1900 block of Mathews Avenue, where a large police presence was then seen investigating for hours on Sunday.
Law enforcement’s activity in the area, however, was not initially brought on by reports of a burglary. The Redondo Beach Police Department said that around 5:52 a.m., dispatch received a call about a suspect pointing a firearm at another person inside a vehicle on a residential street.
According to RBPD, the 911 caller disconnected before providing a specific location, but officers were able to trace the caller’s phone to the 1900 block of Mathews Avenue.
Officers arrived at the neighborhood and began canvassing the area and contacting residents to investigate the firearm report. It was during this process that officers learned two residents had been the victims of a home invasion robbery, and that the burglary suspects had just fled on foot before police arrived.
A preliminary investigation revealed that the two victims, whose identities were not immediately provided, had been tied up in their home for what police only described as “an extended period of time” before the suspects fled.
Unconfirmed reports by the stringer service Traffic News Los Angeles (TNLA) indicate that, according to police and witnesses at the scene, the residents were tied up for a little over two hours during the burglary.
Paramedics with the Redondo Beach Fire Department arrived at the scene to treat the victims, who both sustained non-life-threatening injuries. One victim was transported to a local hospital, where authorities said they remain in stable condition.
Although the suspects fled the residence, RBPD said police “gave chase” and were able to successfully take them into custody without further incident. The department identified the burglary suspects as Jesus Velez, 31, from Rochester, New York, and Draven Luna, 21, from Queens, New York.
Both suspects were booked at the Redondo Beach jail on numerous charges, including robbery, burglary, and kidnapping, police said, with $100,000 bail set for each suspect.
“Detectives from the Redondo Beach Police Department Investigations Division are investigating the specific circumstances and motive for the crimes,” stated RBPD. “At this stage of the investigation, detectives do not believe there are additional outstanding suspects, and there is no indication of an ongoing threat to the community.”
Anyone with information regarding this incident is encouraged to contact Detective Coates at 310-379-2477 x3506, Tip Line for the Redondo Beach Police Department via text at 310-339-2362, or anonymously at crimetips@redondo.org.
Sofia Pop Perez contributed to this report.