Mendocino sheriff’s officials seek help in home invasion case

Mendocino County sheriff’s detectives are asking for the public’s help in finding armed men who broke into a home in Redwood Valley on Thursday morning and terrorized a couple demanding money and drugs.

The couple awoke about 5:30 a.m. to find two men with handguns in their Colony Drive home, demanding money and drugs, sheriff’s Capt. Greg Van Patten said.

The suspects tied up the couple and assaulted the woman, hitting her in the head with the gun, Van Patten said.

The victims, both in their early 60s, were not identified. They told authorities the suspects entered the home through an unlocked bedroom door, concealed their faces and wore dark clothing.

The suspects bound the woman’s hands and legs, demanding money and marijuana. She struggled and screamed, waking the male victim who was sleeping in another room of the house. But when the suspects saw him approach, they ordered him to the floor at gunpoint and again demanded money and drugs.

They tied the man up and left him face down in a closet.

The suspects ransacked the house, taking money, a shotgun and an oval opal ring with 3 small diamonds.

Other property was stolen but was recovered outside on a road near the home.

After the suspects left, the woman called 911. She was treated for a head injury at a nearby hospital.

Officials are asking anyone who may have seen someone throw items from a moving vehicle in the Redwood Valley area between 6 and 6:30 a.m. Thursday to contact the Sheriff’s Office tip line at 234-2100.