The home invasions have occurred during the past week and a half and with each subsequent incident, violence has escalated to the point of serious injuries to residents.
"Over the last week and the half, Palmdale Station has had three home invasion robberies. All occurred after midnight and are very similar in the way they were done. The suspects forced entry into the front door. They beat the victims in the home, they bound them and then they go through things in their home looking for valuables," said Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Lt. Cory Kennedy.
In the beginning, the robbers used what detectives believe is a baseball bat. In the latest incident, the robbers had a shotgun. Monday night, the robbers broke into a home in the 1900 block of Upper Court.
In one robbery, a victim was taken by ambulance to a local hospital where he received 15 stitches in the back of his head.
On Tuesday, Palmdale Station detectives asked for the public’s help in identifying a person of interest in connection with the robberies, saying they fear the violence could escalate now that the robbers are armed with shotguns.
"As these things go eventually something will happen. The victims will do something that the suspects don't anticipate. There weren't any injuries in the first one; a little bit of violence in the second one and the third one was a little more violent. So, we definitely want to get this thing stopped. I have dedicated almost my entire detective bureau to this. We want this stopped. And we want to find these guys," Kennedy said.
Detectives have issued an arrest warrant for James Edward Rollins, Jr., 25, whom they believe has played some part in the home invasions.
According to one of the victims, the robbers pretend they are from the Palmdale Sheriff’s Station.
“They told me to get on the floor. And then they said ‘bitch.’ And when they said ‘Get on the floor, bitch,’ I knew it wasn’t the Palmdale Station,” said the victim.
As of Tuesday, the robbers have stolen several thousand dollars in cash, jewelry and flat screen televisions.
The robbers are described as male blacks in their 20s, about 6’ tall and weighing 200 pounds. All wore dark clothing and ski masks.
The first home invasion was in an apartment complex in the 1100 block of East Avenue R. The second was an apartment complex in the 38300 block of 30th Street East.
Anyone with information on the suspects was asked to call Detective J. Hoyt at the Palmdale Sheriff's Station at (661) 272-2473. Information can be reported anonymously by calling the Crime Stoppers hotline at (800) 222-TIPS (8477), using the organization's website at lacrimestoppers.org or texting the letters TIPLA plus the tip to CRIMES (274637).
